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Alter post-graduation in Applied Social Science in 1955 from Tata
Institute of Social Science, Suresh Suratwala at the age of 25 years,
inspired by Mahatma Clandhi's call to go to villages, shifted his social
base trom Mumbai to the remote, draught-prone and impoverished nine
viUages in Maan Taluka, Satara District, Maharashtra. He stayed and
worked there for the next 35 years to conceive, plan and implement the
DEVAPUR PROJECT, a pioneering and deeply engaging experiment in
community development. Following Project’s completion in 1990, he
wrote this book to document and analyse his grass-roots experience,
drawing self-critical and insightful enduring lessons, with telling •
implications for the contemporary exploitative and dehumanizing
development model.

“This then stuns up the paradox. In an unequal society like ours,
‘development’ would only increase and deepen inequality, leading to
fiu'lher concentration of wealth and the means of production,
accelerating exploitation and impoverishment. Clearly, inequality is
India’s basic socio-economic problem, not poverty.”

- Chapler 10, p. 157

“. .. the prevailing rural crisis - a direct consequence of the
increasing disparity between the cities and villages due to the pricing
policies deliberately favouring the urban-based industry, trade and the
service sector while blatantly discriminating against the rural-based
agricultural and artisanal production as well as other multiple
productive activities undertaken by the landless labour.”

- Chapter 8, p. 144

“After obtaining higher education in social science and applying the
knowledge by working sincerely with the people, have 1 done well of
the people or have I led tliem to more misery and suffering? Wliy
does poverty bring out good qualities of a human being and why do
they disappear when she/he is better off, when tlie material conditions
improve? Why does such a paradoxical transformation take place?”

THE PARADO)(OF
RURAL DEVELOPMENT

IN INDIA

THE DEVAPUR EXPERIENCE

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THE PARADOX OF
RURAL DEVELOPMENT
IN INDIA

- THE DEVAPUR EXPERIENCE

SURESH SURATWALA

With Introduction by

DR. ANIL SADGOPAL

Edited by

RAJENDRA HARDENIA

The Paradox of Rural Development in India

by Suresh Suratwala

With Introduction by Dr. Anil Sadgopal
Edited by Rajendra Hardenia

Typeset and Layout
Shashi Mourya, Bhopal

Cover Design
Kanak Shashi, Bhopal

First Edition : February 2020
Price: ^ 150/-

Published by

KISHORE BHARATI

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Madhya Pradesh, India

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KISHORE BHARATI, February 2020

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DEDICATION

Decf/catecf to

the he/ovecf people of nine villages
Devapar, Gangoti, Mingni, Tamhhuini
Palasvade, Panwan, Pulkoti,

Shirtav & dalaf

of Taluka Maan, Distt. Satara, Maharashtra
who accepted me and our teams work
for 35 gears.

/ un-learned& re-karned social science
from them

while initiating implementing & completing
The ‘DPmPUP PROTECT'

- A Rural Development Programme.

Contents

Title

Page

No.

Preface

Introduction - Dr. Anil Sadgopal

Chapter 1 Genesis of the Project

Chapter 2 Ground Realities of the Area of

Devapur Project

2.1 Famine Tract

2.2 Quality of Soil

2.3 Rainfall

2.4 Population and its Composition

2.5 Migration of the Population

2.6 Rajewadi Tank

Chapter 3 RWB Approach to Rural Development:
Content & Character

3.1 Economic Development Programmes

3.2 Social Development Programmes

Chapter 4 Nature & Magnitude of Change and
Development

4.1 Impact of Development: Evaluation and

Analysis

4.2 Transformation: From Subsistence Migratory
Living To Stability and Comfort

103

4.3 Dimensions of Change -1: A Socio-Political
Perspective

108

4.4 Dimensions of Change - II: Post-Globalisation
Changes

111

Chapter 5 Government Agencies vs. Voluntary Sector:
Differences in Perceptions and Vision

117

Chapter 6 Rural Development in Retrospect

125

Chapter 7 Juxtaposing the Role of VOs & NGOs in
Rural Development

137

Chapter 8 Lessons to Learn

140

Chapter 9 Some Guidelines for Rural Work

147

Chapter 10 Introspection on Some Basic Questions

152

Epilogue

166

Appendix Selected Letters and Notes from the Author

177

Index

189

List of Tables

Sr.

No.

Table

No.

Title

Page

No.

2.1

Classification of the Area : Anna Valuation
(Annewari)

2.2

Variation in Rainfall at Devapur

2.3

Population of Devapur Project Villages

2.4

Classification of Population by Age:

1983-84

2.5

Caste-Wise Composition of Families:

1959-60

3.1

Proportion of Cultivated Land Under
Irrigation

3.2

Lift Irrigation Schemes

3.3

Lift Irrigation Co-operatives for Weaker
Sections

3.4

Cotton Ginned and Profit Earned

3.5

Family Planning Operations Among

Eligible Couples: 1983-84

3.6

Children in Age Group of 5 to 14 Years
Attending School: 1983-84

3.7

Children in Age Group of 5 to 14 Years
Attending School: Comparative Statement

3.8

Literacy: Comparative Statement Over the
Years

4.1

Total Income of Villages: From Various
Sources - Comparative Statement

4.2

Changes in Cropping Pattern: Proportionate
Crop-wise Share in Agricultural Production

4.3

Number of Seasonal Out-Migrants

According to Duration of Migration:

1983-84

4.4

Contribution of Migrants’ Savings and
Remittances to Village Income -
Comparative Statement

List of Tables

Contd. . . .

Sr.

No.

Table

No.

Title

Page

No.

4.5

Occupational Pattern

100

4.6

Classification of Families by Main
Occupation: 1983-84

101

4.7

Families Owning Durable Consumer

Goods: 1983- 84

104

4.8

Classification of Family Members
Permanently Living Outside the Village
According to Education: 1983-84

106

4.9

Distribution of Land Floldings:

Comparative Statement

112

4.10

Number and Proportion of Landless

Families: 1983-84

113

4.11

Production of Various Agricultural Crops:
Their Relative Position: 1983- 84

113

4.12

Number and Proportion of Families
Reporting Self-Sufficiency in Food Grains:
1983-84

114

ABBREVIATIONS

BAIF Bharatiya Agro Industries Foundation
BDO Block Development Officer

CARE Co-operative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (An
International NGO for Relief)

CBC Cattle Breading Centre

CEO Chief Executive Officer

Co-op Co-operative

CRS Catholic Relief Service

EGS Employment Guarantee Scheme

FPAI Family Planning Association of India

HSRA Hindustan Socialist Republican Association

Lift Irrg. Lift Irrigation

MSEB Maharashtra State Electricity Board

NCPA National Centre for Performing Arts

NGO Non-Govemmental Organization

OBC Other Backward Classes

PL480 Public Law 480 (Law signed by US President 1954, also
known as Food for Peace Act)

RWB Rural Welfare Board

SC/ST Scheduled Caste/ Scheduled Tribe

SDTT Sir Dorabji Tata Trust

ST State Transport

TIFR Tata Institute of Fundamental Research

TISS Tata Institute of Social Sciences

VO Voluntary Organization

PREFACE

"India lives in its villages. More than 70% of our rural people live
on agriculture and village industries. A majority of them are
illiterate and live a miserable life in poverty." This is precisely what
we were taught in our colleges. During the independence
movement, Gandhi] i called upon India's educated youth to go to the
villages and work with the impoverished with a view to improve the
quality of their life. This was the inspiring ambience of the
Gandhian era both before and after independence. I was one of
those who were influenced by this compelling spirit in the early
1950s.

Hence, after my graduation in Economics, I underwent a two-
year post-graduation course in Applied Social Sciences, with
specialization in Rural Community Organization at the Tata
Institute of Social Sciences (TISS, Mumbai. My teachers at TISS
wanted me to do my Doctorate but I was interested instead in
directly experiencing the rural life and engaging with rural
development work. Accordingly, immediately on completion of my
studies in 1955, I joined Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), Mumbai
which had undertaken a rural development project, almost at the
same time in Maharashtra.

Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, established in 1932, is a renowned
philanthropic organization in India. It provides financial support to
Voluntary Organizations in the form of grants for development and
welfare programmes. It also offers financial assistance to the needy
and deserving individuals for higher education and medical relief.
In addition, the Trust has been extending financial help towards the
relief and rehabilitation of the victims of the natural calamities from
time to time. Apart from this, the Trust has played a pioneering role

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 1

in initiating and/or establishing several nationally and
internationally reputed institutions in the country viz., Indian
Institute of Science (IISc) and National Institute of Advance Studies
(NIAS) in Bengaluru; Tata Institute of Fundamental Research
(TIFR) and TISS in Mumbai; National Centre for the Performing
Arts (NCPA), Mumbai; Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai for cancer
treatment and research; and others.

Until early 1950s, the focus of the Trust was on programmes
and institutions in the urban areas. It was in 1952-53 that the Trust
initiated for the first time a rural development project, at the
instance of the Late Dr. John Mathai, the then Chairperson of the
Trust. I had the opportunity to work with this experimental project
as its Coordinator in a group of nine remote villages in the drought-
prone Maan Taluka of Satara District in Maharashtra for a period of
35 years (1955 to 1990), until the project was terminated. I left
Mumbai in 1955 and lived in a small village called Devapur, one of
the nine villages of the project area. Rural work in villages is a
complex and difficult field, with immense opportunities and
formidable challenges.

This small book gives an account of the rural development
project (known as the Devapur Project) of the Sir Dorabji Tata
Trust, its achievements and failures, the rich experience gained by
the workers and the invaluable lessons learnt from the experiment.
The book is in two parts. The first part (Chapters 1 to 5) is a
descriptive narration of various rural development programmes and
welfare activities undertaken by the Trust in the selected villages. It
is grounded in the Bench-mark Survey of the selected villages
carried out by the Gokhale Institute of Politics & Economics, Pune
at the instance of its then Director Dr. D. R. Gadgil and under the
guidance of Dr. V. M. Dandekar, when the Trust started its work in
the early 1950s. Similarly, the other primary source is the
Evaluation Study of the socio-economic conditions of the people of
these villages, when the project was terminated. This Study was
conducted by Sh. Y.S. Pandit, the then Economic Adviser, Tata

2 Suresh Suratwala

Industries Ltd., Mumbai. Thus, the first part of the book is based on
an objective study of the Project at its beginning and at its end.

The second part of the book (Chapters 6 to 10) attempts to
present my own views on rural development and its paradox. It is
based on my humble experience of 35 years in the field; and 7 years
as a Program Officer in the Trust Office, when I got an opportunity
to interact with a large number of NGOs engaged in rural work. It is
an analytical reflection in retrospect of my experiences in rural
development. It is, therefore, subjective in nature but a free, frank
and honest submission of my views and insights for which I am
entirely and solely responsible. Hopefully, the discerning readers
would find it challenging. The readers may or may not agree with
my views. Hence, their comments and suggestions would be crucial
in enriching the perspective and advancing the analytical discourse
on rural development.

The original manuscript of the book was written by me in the
year 2006. Therefore, some of the statistical data might appear to be
a bit out of date. However, the substance and the main theme of the
subject of the book continue to be contemporary and alive. I had
passed on the manuscript to Dr. Anil Sadgopal at Bhopal for his
perusal, who in turn passed it on to Sh. Rajendra Hardenia at
Pipariya (Distt. Hoshangabad, Madhya Pradesh). Sh. Hardenia has
taken great pains and put in sustained hard work to take care of the
errors, minimise repetitions and essentially reorganise the whole
manuscript in order to make it readable. I am, therefore, highly
grateful to him for his precious editorial work, apart from also
including an invaluable detailed Index. I express my warm thanks to
Dr. Anil Sadgopal for his penetrating questions from time to time
and writing a comprehensive Introduction to the book while also
incorporating several of my suggestions therein. He has further
helped me to update and re-envision the Epilogue in light of the
present dominant political economy. My special kudos go to Ms.
Shashi Mourya at Bhopal for transposing the manuscript in a book
format and fine tuning its layout.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 3

It is only due to the Late Dr. John Mathai, Prof. R. Choksi, Dr.
D. R. Gadgil, Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil and Sh. J. R. D.Tata - all of
them indomitable leaders of their times in varying fields - that the
Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) agreed to take up the Devapur
Project. I am grateful to the Trust for giving me a unique
opportunity to work in the villages of the Devapur Project and
according me complete freedom to take all major decisions,
including the designing of the field-level programmes, without any
interference whatsoever. This enabled me to unlearn, re-learn and
review my knowledge of social science, reorganise my thoughts and
re-interpret my grass-roots experiences of rural development in a
critical perspective of national policy.

Last but not the least, I record here my life-long debt to all the
people of the nine villages of the Devapur Project, not only for their
sustained co-operation and love but also for their immense patience
in letting me learn from my mistakes at my own pace, during my
stay amidst them of 35 years. Working with them in both good and
difficult times has left an indelible imprint on my life. This is
precisely the source of my strength in this book that emboldens me
to disagree with the ruling classes and castes, postulate radical
hypotheses and appeal to the new generation to demolish the failed
but still dominant theories of development. Hopefully, it would be
the engaged feedback from today’s youth that would enable all of us
to meaningfully explore the transformative path for reconstructing
India as per the aspirations of the struggling masses.

- Suresh Suratwala

4 Suresh Suratwala

INTRODUCTION

- Dr. ANIL SADGOPAL

A fter about 150 years of struggle against British imperialism,
the vast sprawling Indian sub-continent gained independence
in August 1947. In spite of the shock of the partition of the
subcontinent into India and Pakistan and the unprecedented human
tragedy that followed, a new ray of hope emerged among the youth
to re-build India in the mould of the aspirations of the freedom
struggle. At the age of 7 years, I was, too, proactively part of this
inspiring, patriotic and nation-building mood, though I realise now,
only naively. Undoubtedly, there were a range of unresolved vexed
issues. Chiefly, these related to the development model and socio¬
economic policies to be pursued in order to eliminate inequality and
the consequent poverty, unemployment, child labour and
malnutrition; ensure redistribution of land and wealth; and liberate
the society from exploitation and oppression historically rooted in
class, caste, creed, race, patriarchy, language, birth place and
disability. The national movement had also raised high public
expectations of achieving universal state-funded free and equitable
education and medical support with social justice; re-establishing
the role of Indian languages in all spheres of national life; and
spreading scientific temper and enlightenment. In addition, the
freedom struggle held out the promise of critical engagement with
cultural obscurantism manifested in feudalism, caste system,
patriarchy, superstition, archaic anti-social practices (e.g. sati
pratha, child marriages, dowry and oppressive regime for women,
SCs, STs, OBCs, religious and linguistic minorities, denotified and
nomadic tribes and the disabled) and the emergent religious
fundamentalism combined with parochial pseudo-nationalism.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 5

Apart from these socio-cultural and economic concerns, there was a
re-assertion, rational or otherwise, of giving the ancient Indian
culture and India's contributions made to global knowledge its due
place in history, the varying and even contradicting perceptions of
the diverse sub-continental cultural history notwithstanding*. A
major debate was engaging the patriotic, progressive and the
intellectual mind of the newly bom nation on such and several other
complex issues impacting on the Indian society and birth of the new
nation.

The Battle of Ideas and Ideologies during the Freedom Struggle

On the one hand, there was the Nehmvian vision of rapid
industrial development through heavy and, if required, imported
machinery, moving towards self-reliance and building a society
grounded in modem science and technology. Expectedly, this vision
was endorsed, and also promoted, by the Indian capitalist class
which came to be known during the freedom stmggle as the
‘national bourgeoisie’. We will revert to this matter later when we
dwell upon the Bombay Plan (1945). This post-independence dream
was symbolized by giant steel plants and big dams, all in the Public
Sector, which were soon to be viewed in the school textbooks as the

*The 'divide and rule' poliey of the British Raj cynically utilised these' varying and
even contradicting perceptions of the diverse sub-continental eultural history' to
promote the 'two-nation theory' to which the retrogressive forees of both the Hindu
Rashtra and Muslim Kaum fell easy prey to, leading to India's partition. The suicidal
rise of cultural fascism and jingoistic 'nationalism' in the eontemporary Indian
politics has its roots in the pre-partition 'two-nation theory'. The neo-liberal
eapitalism and, therefore, its logical next stage i.e. imperialism has found it
eonvenient to ‘ride piggy-back on the agency of Hindu Rashtra forces’, with
dangerous implications for India's socio-economic policies and development model,
let alone the survival of the very 'Idea of India'.

^To be sure, though named after the first Prime Minister of India, the economic
development vision was fully endorsed by the top leadership of the Indian National
Congress (also the then entire first Cabinet) which included the stalwarts of the
Freedom Struggle like Sardar Vallbhbhai Patel, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, Dr.
Rajendra Prasad, C. Rajagopalachari and Govind Vallabh Pant, to name a few. This
consensus was arrived way back at the Haripura Congress (1938) held in Bardoli,
Sardar Patel's karmabhoomi in South Gujarat.

6 Suresh Suratwala

‘modem temples of India’, the internal developmental
contradictions notwithstanding.

Juxtaposed to this imagery of modem India was the passionate
appeal of Gandhi calling for rejuvenation of mral India as the
primary political and socio-economic task to be undertaken after the
end of the colonial mle. Earlier in 1909 in his Hind Swaraj, Gandhi
had unleashed a civilisational debate, rejecting the western capitalist
development model as being exploitative, oppressive and
unsustainable, especially in its relationship with nature and natural
resources. He further argued that India lived in her 5 lakh villages
while the cities had a parasitic relationship with the primarily
agricultural village economy^. The Nehmvian logic held that the
wealth generated through industrialization would eventually ‘trickle
down’ or ‘percolate’ to the poor masses of mral India and bring
about the long-awaited social transformation. Gandhi instead
advocated that priority must be accorded to energize agro-based
cottage industries for building a decentralized, self-reliant and
vibrant mral economy. Simultaneously, Gandhi proposed to
catalyse a ‘silent social revolution’ through Nai Taleem - a radical
programme involving demolition of the Macaulayian-cum-
Brahmanical education system and concomitant pedagogic
reconstruction of education in the mother tongue through scientific
productive work undertaken traditionally by the SCs, STs, OBCs,
Muslims and the denotified and nomadic tribes (these constitute
today's Bahujans - 85% of India's population) to be placed at the
core of education in all the classrooms of post-independence India.
Only then, he contended, poverty, inequalities (based on class.

^The Gandhian concern regarding the parasitic relationship of the cities with the
primarily agriculture-hased village economy is endorsed by the author's analysis of
the flawed pricing policy of agricultural and other rural products. He attributes the
deepening rural crisis to "the increasing disparity between the cities and villages due
to the pricing policies deliberately favoming the urban-based industry, trade and the
service sector while blatantly discriminating against the rural-based agricultural and
artisanal production as well as other multiple productive activities undertaken by the
landless labom (see Chapter 8, p.l44)."

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 7

caste, creed, race, patriarchy, language and disability),
unemployment and cultural obscurantism afflicting India could be
abolished.

To be sure, there were other worldviews as well. These either
questioned the very premises of both the otherwise contradictory
visions — Nehruvian and Gandhian — or, at least, called for major
modifications therein. A powerful debate was unfolding within the
Congress Party during 1930s on the ways and means of attaining
freedom, under the indomitable leadership of Subhash Chandra
Bose and others. Although agreeing with the Nehruvian emphasis
on industrialization, Bose stood for “socialism — for full-blooded
socialism"^” and underlined that “This freedom implies not only
emancipation from political bondage but also equal distribution of

wealth, abolition of caste barriers and social inequalities.Free

India will not be a land of capitalists, landlords and castes.

Bose apparently appreciated certain elements of the Marxist theory
but would not go along with the Soviet model of communism.
Rather, he contended that “India should, therefore, evolve her own
form of socialism. When the whole world is engaged in socialistic
experiments, why should we not do the same? It may be that the
form of socialism which India will evolve will have something new
and original about it which will be of benefit to the whole world^.”
The socialist wing of the Congress party, led by stalwarts like
Rammanohar Lohia and Jaiprakash Narayan, underlining a
relationship between class and caste in the Indian context, argued
that the structure and processes inbuilt in the socio-economic
policies must be designed such as to lead to redistribution of wealth
(including land) without which the problems of poverty,
unemployment, casteist structure, communalism and cultural
obscurantism shall persist for ever.

“’Presidential Address at the All India Trade Union Congress, Kolkata, July 4, 1931.
^Presidential Address at the Students Conference, Lahore, October 1929.
’’Presidential Address at the All India Trade Union Congress, Kolkata, July 4, 1931.

8 Suresh Suratwala

By the time of independence, the contending worldviews
within the Congress Party finally managed to converge toward a
consensus, at least a working one, on certain policy imperatives
concerning the post-independence economic development model.
The seniormost leadership of the Congress Party, including Sardar
Vallabhbhai Patel, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
and C. Rajagopalachari, were part of the consensus led by Nehru.
The consensus provided for a dominant role of the Public Sector in
industrialization, modernization of agriculture and undertaking land
reforms and organising cooperatives. However, the Gandhian
appeal for giving priority to building a decentralized self-reliant
vibrant rural economy could not be apparently accommodated in
this internal consensus within the Congress leadership.

The Anti-Caste Diseourse and Soeialism

There was yet another parallel but powerful debafe of hisforic
significance emerging in the Indian polity. This debate owes its
origin to Mahatma Jotirao Phule’s anti-caste discourse as
documented in Gulamgiri (Slavery, 1873) and Shetkaryacha Asud
(Cultivator’s Whipcord, 1883), both written originally in Marathi’.
In these two seminal works, Phule emerges as an organic
intellectual who uses historiography to reveal the history of the
subaltern castes viz., shudra-atishudras (atishudras would be
‘dalits’ in today’s parlance). He infers that knowledge of the true
history of the shudra-atishudra castes would lead to anti-caste
revolution to liberate the entire people from the shackles of
Varnashram. Almost half a century later, taking cue from Phule’s
scientific history of the caste system. Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar
enters into a historic debate with Gandhi in the 1930s and questions
the very premise of the Gandhian logic of rural rejuvenation. Citing
from his in-depth studies of the history and sociology of
Varnashram, Ambedkar argued that the village was the fortress of

^Deshpande, G. P. (Ed.), Selected Writings of Jotirao Phule, Lefty^ordi Books, New
Delhi, 2002, pp. 23-99 & 113-189.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 9

caste oppression. Any attempt to strengthen or rejuvenate village-
based economy is bound to increase the stranglehold of the upper
caste hegemony, thereby maintaining the same oppressive structure
that had exploited dalits, tribals and other backward sections of
society for centuries*. While unwilling to accept the Ambedkar
critique of Vamashram, Gandhi advocated and assiduously worked
for a programme for eliminating untouchability from the Indian
society and transforming villages into ‘Republics’ founded on
equality, justice and enlightenment. There is, however, emerging
evidence that Gandhi’s own rigidity with respect to caste and
Vamashram and their role in Indian society underwent radical
change by late 1930s, presumably under the impact of Dr.
Ambedkar’s scholarly and powerful critique^.

Throughout this period, from early nineteenth century
onwards, movements emerged against the caste structure and
hegemony of the upper classes and castes in different parts of the
country. It was through “radical questioning and rational social
vision of early thinkers and leaders like Kandukuri Veeresalingam
(Andhra Pradesh), Narayan Guru (Kerala), lyothee Thassar (Tamil
Nadu), Gurajada Apparao (Andhra Pradesh), Singaravelar and
Periyar (Tamil Nadu) that public consciousness could be mobilized
to challenge social stratification, oppose irrational traditions and

^Interestingly, almost seven deeades after Ambedkar countered Gandhi's logic of
rural rejuvenation by portraying villages as "the fortress of caste oppression", this
author's 35 years of rural development experience endorses Ambedkar’s assertion.
The author concludes that, "without ‘radical structural changes’ ... no amount of
the so-called rural development work would help us to create ‘a social order based
on equality and social justice and free of discrimination’ . . . Ironically . . . [it]
enables the upper classes and upper castes to strengthen their capacity to further
exploit. . . [emphasis mine] (See Chapter 8, p. 141)." Nonetheless, there is a ray of
hope in the author's relentless pursuit of the path to social transformation. He
contends in this book that the hegemony of the upper classes and castes can be
challenged provided we ensure "concurrent macro-level policy support aimed at
certain basic changes in the socio-economic framework and, if necessitated, through
accompanying Constitutional amendments too {ibid, p. 141)."

^See Sadgopal, Anil, The pedagogic Essence ofNai Taleem: Reconstructing its Role
in Contemporary Curriculum in 'The Living Gandhi: Lessons of Our Times' (Eds.
Sethia, Tara and Narayan, Anjana), Penguin Books, New Delhi, 2013, pp. 170-72.

10 Suresh Suratwala

practices and advocate education as a means of modernization of
society .

Ambedkar did not stop at merely disagreeing with the
Gandhian development model but proposed an alternative economic
model which is akin to State Socialism. In a memorandum
submitted to the Constituent Assembly in 1946, he advocates
nationalization of all key and basic industries and acquisition of all
agricultural land by the State with collectivised method of
farming". He writes: “land shall be let out to villagers without
distinction of caste or creed and in such manner that there will be no
landlord, no tenant and no landless labourer”. The outstanding
feature of the plan is to include this model of State Socialism into
the Constitution itself, without leaving any possibility for the
Legislature or the Executive to “suspend, amend or abrogate it”. He
argues that, if this plan is not prescribed by the Constitution, the
powerful capitalist class shall not allow this plan to take shape or
may allow only a highly diluted form. The Constituent Assembly
did not accept Ambedkar’s proposal. However, this did not prevent
his following clarion call from reaching out to the subaltern classes
and castes, most of whom were and continue to be poor peasants
and landless labourers of rural India:

“My final words of advice to you are educate, agitate and
organize; have faith in yourself. With justice on our side 1 do
not see how we can lose our battle. The battle to me is a matter
of joy. The battle is in the fullest sense spiritual. There is
nothing material or social in it. For ours is a battle not for
wealth or for power. It is battle for freedom. It is the battle of
reclamation of human personality [Emphasis mine]. ’’

- Speech delivered at the All India Depressed Classes Conference, Nagpur, July 1942.

^"^All India Forum for Right to Education (AIFRTE), Chennai Declaration, 2012,
https://www.rosalux.de/fileadmin/images/Ausland/Suedasien/NI-01-Chennai-
Declaration-2nd_Ed-Final.pdf, p. 5.

^ ^Memorandum on the Safeguards for the Scheduled Castes submitted to
the Constituent Assembly in 1946 on behalf of the All India Scheduled Castes
Federation and published in 1947 under the title, ‘STATES AND MINORITIES:
What are Their Rights and How to Secure them in the Constitution of Free India’.
Source:

http://www.ambedkar.org/ambcd/1 OB 1 .%20Statesand%20Minorities%20Appendix.htm;
Accessed on 15* June 2013.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 11

Addressing the socialists, Ambedkar asserted that they “must
recognize that the problem of social reform is fundamental” and
contended that the socialist will be “compelled to take account of
caste after revolution if he does not take account of it before
revolution (p. 16)^^.” He urged them to appreciate that “caste
system is not merely a division of labour. It is also a division of
labourers ... it is a hierarchy in which the divisions of labourers are
graded one above the other {ibid, p. 16-17).” Hence, his warning to
the socialists, “caste is the monster that crosses your path. You
cannot have political reform, you cannot have economic reform,
unless you kill this monster {ibid, p. 16).” In his undelivered but a
historic speech prepared for the Annual Conference of the Jat-Pat
Todak Mandal, Lahore (May 1936), Ambedkar dares us to face the
reality,

“Yours is more difficult than the other national cause,
namely Swaraj. In the fight for Swaraj you fight with whole
nation on your side. In this, you have to fight against the
whole nation and that too, your own .... More important
than the question of defending Swaraj is the question of

defending the Hindus under the Swaraj.only when the

Hindu Society becomes a casteless society that it can hope to
have strength enough to defend itself Without such internal
strength, Swaraj for Hindus may turn out to be only a step
towards slavery.”

- B. R. Ambedkar
Annihilation of Caste, May 1936, Lahore'^

The Anti-Imperialist Diseourse Vs. the National Bonrgeoisie

The entire exercise of the Congress Party in envisaging the
development model of post-independence India was rejected
outrighi way back in late 1920s ilself by Ihe formidable ideological
challenge posed by Shaheed Chandrashekhar Azad, Shaheed Bhagal
Singh and their youthful revolutionary colleagues of the Hindustan

’^Ambedkar, B. R. (May, 1936), Annihilation of Caste,

http://ccnmtl.Columbia.edu/projects/mmt/ambedkar/web/readings/aoc_print 2004.pdf
'^Ibid, p.40.

12 Suresh Suratwala

Socialist Republican Association (HSRA), a political party formed
in 1928. This challenge continued until the martyrdom of Bhagat
Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru on 23'^'’ March 1931. Clearly inspired
by the scientific Marxist philosophy'"^, HSRA gave the twin inter¬
linked calls for not only liberating India from British imperialism
but also for radical socialist reconstruction of Indian political
economy and socio-cultural structures, through class struggle'^.
Class struggle, to be waged primarily under the leadership of the
working class in alliance with the peasantry and the youth, will be
aimed at establishing the control of the working class over the
means of production which were until then in the control of the
Indian capitalist class and the feudal landlords. From among all his
predecessors and contemporaries in the freedom movement,
Shaheed Bhagat Singh undoubtedly stands out as being the most
scientific and forthright in defining socialism - it must mean
abolition of capitalism, transfer of means of production and
domination of the working class. In 1928, Shaheed Bhagat Singh
relates untouchability with the question of land alienation and rising
competitive communal politics of the times and urges upon the
‘untouchables’ to mobilize and struggle for socialist revolution {see
Chaman Lai, Footnote 15 (i), pp. 156-160]. While questioning the
role of the Indian capitalist class in the national movement, HSRA
ridiculed the Congress Party’s conception of ‘national bourgeoisie’
and termed it as being against the interest of the masses. The
Congress Party was hard-pressed to deal with HSRA’s contention
that freedom struggle without a programme of socialist
reconstruction would amount to merely transfer of power from
‘white sahibs’ to their ‘brown’ counterparts, rather than liberation
from British imperialism and colonial rule and emancipation of the
exploited and oppressed masses.

'‘'a philosophy committed to the goal of human emancipation.

*^See (i) Chaman Lai (Ed.), Bhagatsingh Ke Sampoorna Dastavej, Adhar
Prakashan, Panchakoola, Haryana, 2004, pp. 240, 274, 276-78, 280-81, 283, 285,
294 & 299 & (ii) Bipin Chandra et ai, India’s Struggle for Independence 1857-
1947, Penguin Books, New Delhi, 1988, pp. 247-259.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 13

In an assessment of the HSRA’s movement made in 1980s,
Prof. Bipin Chandra, the renowned historian of the Freedom
Struggle, observes that Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his comrades
indeed "made a major advance in broadening the scope and
definition of revolution ... Its first objective was national liberation
- the overthrow of imperialism. But it must go beyond and work for
a new socialist social order, it must end exploitation of man by
man} " Thus, HSRA gave a new direction to the Freedom Struggle
by ideologically linking it with the struggle for socialist
transformation. However, under the impact of the ‘national
bourgeoisie’, the HSRA movement has been presented to the
country only as a 'patriotic' movement limited to the transfer of
power from the British to their Indian counterparts. This is how the
radical socialist philosophy of HSRA and its revolutionary
programme of social transformation have been steadily erased from
the public memory in the course of time. One can now understand
why it has become possible to reduce these youthful revolutionaries
to merely being divine figures to be worshipped blindly as heroes of
the Freedom Struggle, without being even conscious of the
revolutionary cause of building socialism and resisting imperialism
for which they sacrificed their lives. This should also explain why
the right wing Hindu Rashtra forces have been apparently (at least
temporarily) ‘successful’ in co-opting Bhagat Singh and his
comrades as their icons while several sections of the progressive
forces of the left are seemingly ‘satisfied’ by merely celebrating
their martyrdom as a ritual year after year. Presently, India is
undergoing multi-dimensional neo-liberal assault paving the way
for the global capital to take over control of our jal-jangal-jameen-
jeevika (water-forest-land-livelihood), jnana (knowledge,
education) and swasthya (health), even as the sovereignty of the
Republic faces rapid attrition. The possibility of such
‘recolonisation’ of India is precisely what Shaheed Bhagat Singh

**Bipin Chandra et at, India’s Struggle for Independence 1857-1947, Penguin
Books, New Delhi, 1988, pp. 256.

14 Suresh Suratwala

had warned the nation about in his historic message to the youth,
‘Kaum Ke Naam Sandesh’, written about seven weeks before his
martyrdom!

“It makes no difference to the people if Lord Reading or Irwin
are replaced by Tej Bahadur or Purshottam Das or Thakur
Das.”

- Bhagat Singh in ‘Kaum Ke Naam Sandesh ’

2'“‘ February 1931, Lahore Jail

“The Struggle in India would continue so long as “a handful of
exploiters go on exploiting the labour of common people for
their own ends. It matters little whether these exploiters are
purely British capitalists, or British and Indians in alliance, or
even purely Indians.”

- Bhagat Singh in a Letter
3'^'* March 1931, Lahore Jail

The Bombay Plan and the Development Model

In 1930s, as the freedom struggle advanced forward under the
leadership of the Congress Party, the Indian capitalist class
discovered a common ground with the agenda of swaraj, swadeshi
and end of the colonial rule. The common ground covered the
interest of the capitalist class in discouraging competitive imports of
the manufactured goods from abroad thereby boosting up the
market for locally produced goods. They found that Gandhi’s call
for the boycott of foreign cloth would also help promote the market
for the cloth produced in Indian mills (i.e. the swadeshi cloth)^’.
The Congress, too, found this emerging common ground of mutual

*’To be fair to the Swadeshi movement, however, it should be emphasised that, with
support of the Indian National Congress, Gandhi built a successful nation-wide
movement of mass production of hand-spun Khadi cloth which went against the
narrow financial interests of the leading members of the national bourgeoisie
owning mills that produced cloth for the Indian market. The national bourgeoisie
must have been left with no option but to continue its support of the Freedom
Struggle, despite the competition its mill-made cloth faced from the popular mass
movement of Khadi production. Apparently, the Indian capitalist class was also
'maturing' and decided to wait imtil it got the opportunity in 1945 to present its
Bombay Plan which opened doors for its tremendous sustained growth in post¬
independence India.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 15

advantage and drew upon the Indian capitalists for financial support
for the freedom struggle. This is what led to the emergence of the
concept of ‘national bourgeoisie’. In return for this support, the
‘national bourgeoisie’ expected the Congress Party to negotiate with
the British Raj on the trading conditions and tax and other laws such
that these would be favourable to the Indian industries, at least
would not be discriminatory in comparison to British and other
foreign companies.

Thus in 1945, the Birla-led FICCI (Federation of Indian
Chambers of Commerce and Industry) and Tata-led ASSOCHAM
(Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry) joined hands to
present their BOMBAY PLAN (popularly known as ‘Tata-Birla
Plan') to the Congress Party as a policy document for post¬
independence economic development model. In our present context,
three outstanding features of the BOMBAY PLAN need to be
highlighted here. First, it proposed that the development after
independence would necessarily require massive investment of
capital to build infrastructure, transport (road, railways, sea and air),
power generation and distribution, capacity to produce steel,
aluminium and other metals, mining, and ‘modernisation’ of
agriculture. For this to happen, modem technology would have to
be imported on a huge scale until self-reliance is attained. Second,
such a scale of capital investment and technology import was way
beyond the capacity of the Indian capitalist class and could only be
undertaken by the new Indian state through public resources. Third,
the Indian state must develop a powerful Public Sector but this must
be done in such manner so as to promote the private capital as well.
These three principles of economic policy laid the foundation of the
‘mixed economic policy’ of the post-independence Indian state.

With the BOMBAY PLAN, the cat was out of the bag! What
further evidence was required that the freedom straggle’s agenda of
swaraj and swadeshi was only a convenient ploy for the so-called
‘national bourgeoisie’. This ploy was used as long as it was useful
in making the Congress Party procure favourable economic

16 Suresh Suratwala

concessions from the British Raj for its own profits. However, in
1945, at the dawn of the end of the colonial rule, these ploys had
become unnecessary, if not even obstacles. Hence, the ‘foresight’ of
the ‘national bourgeoisie’ lay in persuading the emerging Indian
state to build a vast Public Sector which will serve the purpose of
the Indian capitalist class and promote a capitalist model of
development, irrespective of whether it would be in the wider
interest of the masses or not.

To sum up, let us go back to the HSRA’s critique of the
Congress Party in the late 1920s for building a political relationship
with the ‘national bourgeoisie’. The young revolutionaries, led by
Shaheed Cahndrashekhar Azad and Shaheed Bhagat Singh, had the
foresight of seeing the truth, more than 15 years before the
BOMBAY PLAN provided the evidence. In final analysis, the
history would record that a long-term damage to the cause of India’s
anti-colonial struggle was afflicted by the ‘national bourgeoisie’ by
restraining the Congress Party from (a) encouraging and supporting
the building up of an unambiguous socialist policy framework,
despite the presence of several leading socialist thinkers within its
fold; (b) aligning with those anti-imperialist organizations (e.g.
HSRA and the emerging communist movement) which were
committed to socialist reconstruction of modem India; and (c)
linking the anti-imperialist sfruggle with a radical programme of
socialist reconsfruction of the political economy of post¬
independence state.

The global capitalism is continuously undergoing cycles of
internal crises in the form of economic recessions. The crisis is
further aggravated by global warming and climate change,
increasing inequality, rising unemployment and dis-employment,
apart from attrition of ethical values and social fabric accelerated by
digitalisation. To be sure, there would certainly be time and space
when the Indian state would be compelled by the emerging
objective conditions to undertake an honest and forthright review of
how the Indian freedom sfruggle was not allowed to become

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 17

simultaneously a struggle for the liberation of her people from both
the yoke of imperialism, on the one hand, and exploitation by the
ruling class in collusion with the oppressive Manuwadi caste
structure with patriarchy embedded therein, cutting across religious
boundaries, on the other hand.

In the process, even the Gandhian vision of building a
decentralized, self-reliant and vibrant rural economy as a primary
political task after independence could no more be sustained in the
capitalist model of development, though it received rhetorical
references in the first three or four Five-Year Plans. Rather, it was
ridiculed as being outdated. The State has been in a hurry to push
its twin agenda of debunking the Gandhian model of development
and, at the same time, of raising Gandhi to the level of Mahatma
and installing him as ‘Father of the Nation ’ - pushing him beyond
both comprehension and rational critique - good enough only to be
used politically as an icon and worshipped blindly (See Epilogue
for 'An Imaginary Dialogue Between Mahatma Gandhi and India's
Present Political Leadership', pp. 174-176)!

The Twin Discourse Defining the Freedom Struggle

As substantiated above, the Freedom Struggle was defined by
the twin Anti-Imperialist and Anti-Caste discourse. The two
discourses, by and large, moved forward in parallel paths, exploring
dialogue and mutual understanding rather rarely. Yet, due to
powerful under-currents and social dynamics, these discourses
impacted on each other deeply, both philosophically and politically,
as it happened during Gandhi-Ambedkar Debate (Poona Pact, 1932)
and again when Gandhi serialised Dr. Ambedkar's historical essay
titled 'Annihilation of Caste' (1936) in Harijan followed by an
intense debate. This inter-discourse dialogue continues to date in
search of a commonality of purpose in the larger interest of India's
masses (primarily Bahujans) and their yearning for equal
opportunity to education, health, food, shelter and livelihood with
social justice and dignity as citizens of India.

18 Suresh Suratwala

The Overarching Gandhian Appeal

In spite of a broad political consensus around the Nehruvian
vision of development at the dawn of independence, the Gandhian
appeal to reconstruct India’s villages continued to make immense
sense to a large section of the educated youth, intellectuals and
planners. The first five year plan (1951-56) emphasized rural
development by disaggregating rural India in terms of Community
Development Blocks and giving to each Block, in principle, a
certain level of autonomy to govern and pursue its own path of
development. Arguably, this may be construed as an early
acknowledgment of geo-cultural diversity, though, in practice, this
seemingly decentralised exercise was not only regulated by
centralised guidelines but also dominated by the policy vision of the
emergent Indian state. This community development plan, claiming
to be inspired by the Gandhian thought, was pioneered by Shri S. K.
Dey, the first Union Minister of Community Development.

It was in this backdrop in 1955 that the 25-year old Suresh
Suratwala (the author of this book), bom in a Gujarati business-
oriented family based in Mumbai, took an unusual decision inspired
by patriotism, missionary zeal and love for the people. Holding a
post-graduate degree in Applied Social Science from the Tata
Institute of Social Science (TISS), Mumbai, Suresh decided to
uproot himself from his metropolitan upper middle class social base
and shift to the drought-prone, ‘under-developed’ and impoverished
nine villages of Maan Taluka, Distt. Satara, Maharashtra for the rest
of his active life - almost 35 years! As his autobiographical
documentation here reveals (see Preface, to begin with), he must
have been then full of youthful passion to translate the community
development ideas, then being promoted by the Union Government,
into practice. This passion was in spite of the tremendous odds
against him which included, among others, lack of familiarity with
rural life and its internecine social stmcture operating under the
hegemony of caste and patriarchy. Nor did he have any technical
expertise required for mral development — be it in the field of water

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 19

management or irrigation, farming, horticulture, animal husbandry,
cattle breeding, building infrastructure, setting up co-operatives,
rural marketing and governance or creating schools and health
centres. Thus, Suresh must have faced rather uncertain future but
what he must have been sure of was the historic opportunity waiting
for him to ‘redeem our pledge’ to the people of India (Ref. Nehru's
historic 'Tryst with Destiny' speech at the Parliament, 14th-15th
August midnight, 1947).

Some Personal Refleetions

Before I proceed ahead, I must confess how arduous is the task
for a ‘student’ (i.e. myself) to write the Introduction of a book
written by his ‘guru’ (i.e. Suresh Suratwala). This is especially so
when the ‘guru’ emboldened me way back in 1970 to give up my
teaching-cum-research career in biochemistry and molecular
biology at the Govt, of India’s Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research, Mumbai at the age of 31 years and shift my social base to
rural Hoshangabad District (Madhya Pradesh) for the next 22 years
of my life. Further, he continuously challenged me and my
colleagues in KISHORE BHARATI (KB), the Voluntary
Organisation we constituted, with his discomforting questions
regarding the work we has started doing in the rural District. Often,
the questioning tended to become cynical, making us all not only
uncomfortable but at times furious too. However, we all knew in
our hearts that his questions were geared to make us rethink our
position vis-a-vis rural development and our assumptions, often
unsubstantiated as they were, particularly with respect to the role of
education in socio-political transformation. His questions were
often aimed at persuading us to redefine several of the established
notions and ‘jargon’ of rural development

I recall vividly my first visit in late 1969 to Sir Dorabji Tata
Trust’s Devapur Project in Taluka Maan, Distt. Satara, Maharashtra,
initiated in 1955 and led by Suresh Suratwala. It was an unusual
learning experience for me. I was overwhelmed by the quality and
depth of the dialogue with the village people that Suresh was

20 Suresh Suratwala

engaged with. Although the dialogue was in fluent Marathi of the
local variety (Suresh' mother tongue is Gujarati), the meaning
seemed to permeate to me through its powerful collective body
language and the social context. This was my first village-level
lesson in social intervention.

In more ways than one, the nation-wide debate on the
development model that I have elaborated in this Introduction
earlier was organically a part of my interaction with Suresh. He
knew that, inspired by the Gandhian Nai Taleem philosophy, I was
keen on demonstrating education as a powerful means of social
Iransformalion in my proposed rural work in Madhya Pradesh.
Suresh uncompromisingly disagreed with my basic assumption.
Hence, he introduced me in early 1970s to his school-age friend
Jyotibhai Desai, by then an indomitable Gandhian educationist from
Vedchhi, Distt. Surat, Gujarat. We three met, the first time together,
on the pavement of Mumbai’s Colaba Causeway standing next to
the Arabian Sea. Suresh and Jyotibhai had shared the excitement of
the Quit India Movemenf (1942) in fheir feens in the neighbouring
suburbs of Mumbai. Suresh declared to me that, by arranging this
meeting, “My responsibility is now over and Jyotibhai would
henceforth guide you in your Madhya Pradesh work. You both seem
to share a common worldview of education's role in society.” But
this was not to be the case. We three were destined to meet
frequently for the next 22 years in Vill. Palia Pipariya, Bankhedi
Block of Hoshangabad Distt. where KISHORE BHARATI was
located or later elsewhere (mostly in Mumbai) till the middle of the
2000s.

In almosi every meeting , Suresh and Jyotibhai would
invariably get into an intense argument in fluent Gujarati on the

**Both Suresh Suratwala and Jyotibhai Desai were founder members of KISHORE
BHARATI’s Exeeutive Committee from 1970 onwards and well beyond till the
latter part of the previous decade (2000-2010), guiding us in transforming its role
from that of a voluntary organization (KB never became an NGO, See Footnote 19
below) to one of catalyzing and supporting social movements. Although not

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 21

meaning of development and social change and the chaotic direction
to which India was heading for. Suresh would 'accuse' Jyotibhai’s
Gandhian approach for the mess India was in and, in turn, Jytotibhai
would calmly assert that his Gandhian thought transcended Gandhi
and was continuously evolving, engaging with the present reality
and seeking new consensus. The debate would often turn to what is
meant by structural change and how it is to be brought about. The
Gandhian question of 'means and end' {Saadhan aur Saadhya) and
the role of violence or the lack of it in social change was often the
focus of the debate. Some of us would try to intervene in vain with
our rather shaky understanding of socialism and Marxist philosophy
of social transformation but would fail to cut much ice in the
shastrarth between the two great ‘Gurus’, hailing from the hallowed
'Quit India' days. Of course, the two could never agree. But, in the
midst of each prolonged heated debate in Gujarati, someone would
bring coffee and the two would relax and smile, pat on each other’s
back as good old lost friends and return to Hindi for the ‘menials’
like us!

On the Role of VOs/ NGOs (see Footnote No. 19)

Chapter 7 asserts that the Voluntary Organizations (VOs)/Non-
Govemmental Organizations (NGOs)*^ “can play the role of only

formally in the Executive Committee anymore, both continue their critically
constructive relationship with us.

'^Since the beginning of the Devapur Project in 1955, there has been a fundamental
change in the socio-political character of the Voluntary Organisations (VOs) which
took birth primarily during the Freedom Struggle. These VOs, viewed below in two
categories, were formed from the late 19th century onwards as part of, to begin
with, the anti-caste struggle and later of the anti-imperialist struggle as well. The
first category of VOs (e.g. Phule's Satyashodhak Samaj, 1873) focused on building
resistance to the caste system as well as the hegemonic caste-based patriarchy and
other feudal socio-cultural structures and practices. The second category of VOs
(e.g. Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram or later, Sewagram Ashram) focused on the
question of an alternative model of development and/or education, especially in the
context of the rural economy, then under increasing attack of the imperialist policies
of exploitation and impoverishment. Both categories of these VOs evolved as socio¬
political movements with a mission of their own, reflecting the unique perceptions
of the issues and the path of social transformation that inspired their initiators. After
independence, especially from late 1970s onwards and at growing pace and intensity

22 Suresh Suratwala

Functional Development, within the existing structure of the society
. . . defined by the hegemony of class, caste, creed and patriarchy.
They cannot transform the given socio-economic and political
structure. . . .[Nor can they] change the ownership pattern of the
land and other natural resources . . . Flence, even after carrying out
Functional Development work for prolonged periods, the social
structure and the socio-economic and the political system remain
unchanged [emphasis mine] (Chapter 7, p. 137)." The author makes
immense sense in emphasising that the "social dynamics of the rural
society is continuously changing [due to] industrialization,
urbanization, materialism, consumerism, and also introduction of
scientific and technological changes^^ [emphasis mine]" and.

in the 1980s, the government intervened in VOs offering grants, forming and
regulating their networks and eo-opting their leadership in government eommittees
and advisory bodies. Foreign agencies, too, from both the capitalist world and the
socialist countries, pitehed in with inereasing finaneial support combined with
ideological and programmatic interventions. From early 1990s, with the onset of the
globalisation and imposition of neo-liberal capitalist policies on India's political
economy, the character of VOs underwent significant and rapid changes. The
agencies of neo-liberal capitalism such as the IMF, World Bank, WTO, DflD and a
range of international financing agencies including the UN agencies, made strategic
interventions in VOs. In the process, the VOs became NGOs (a term first introduced
in India in the late 1970s), losing their historic legacy of both the anti-caste and anti¬
imperialist struggles - now without a mission of their own. The NGOisation of VOs
not only isolated them from the socio-political movements but also proactively
diluted and distorted them too! The NGO leadership today stands essentially co¬
opted by the state and the global agencies of neo-liberal capitalism and more
recently by the Hindu Rashtra forces as well. Clearly, this book’s author is not
talking of NGOs but of VOs of his times i.e. 1950s, born as legacy of the Freedom
Struggle. To avoid further confusion, henceforth we shall use the term VO and
not NGO, unless required by the specific political context, as elaborated in this
Note.

^°Since the manuscript was finalised by the author in 2006, digitalisation has
steadily taken over several basic functions of human society. The author apparently
had a foreboding. While, on the one hand, digitalisation has made communication,
flow of information, money transaction and commodity exchange much easier and
faster, but on the other hand, it has also led to several serious problems like
addiction to internet and mobile technology, suicidal stranglehold of digital games,
alienation within families and from the society, apart from dangerously increasing
dis-employment (Artificial Intelligence and Robots are rapidly taking over the
manufacturing and services sectors) and the attendant psychological and physical
disorders due to lack of productive and physical work. Even the technologically

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 23

therefore, the need "to evolve new approaches" while maintaining
focus on "bringing about equitable, just and sustainable
development. . . based on ethical values [emphasis mine] {ibid, p.
138)." Further, he aptly cautions us that"... problems are linked to
the global policies of the IMF, World Bank and WTO . . . Unless
the VOs . . . come together, we shall not be able to make any dent in
their stranglehold over . . . countries like ours {ibid, pp. 138-139)."
He calls upon the VOs "[to] undergo . . . self-introspection ... to
give a common united fight to the forces of neo-liberal capitalism . .
. {ibid, p. 139)"

The author laments that the VOs doing good work are "functioning
in isolation of each other . . . each VO's organisational ego . . .
prevents them from coming together." However, he also
acknowledges that, "along with the organisational ego, the
difference at ideological or strategic level may also come in the way
of collective action {ibid, p. 139)." Here is probably an over¬
simplification of the vexed issue. The author's diagnosis seems to be
only partially true. The inability or the unwillingness of the VOs,
like that of the political parties as well, to form a common platform
may also be a consequence of their incomplete or even erroneous
ideological assessment of the crisis of global capitalism.

Voluntary Organisations: The Context of Politieal Eeonomy

In the case of India, the neo-liberal capitalism has managed to
divert political attention from its systemic crisis by riding piggy¬
back on the Hindu Rashtra forces in order to exploit India’s vast
market and rich natural resources’. This has made it possible for
the neo-liberal capitalism, with support from the Hindu Rashtra
forces, to polarise Indian polity, divide the working class and social
movements along caste, religious and linguistic identities, capture

advanced countries have started acknowledging, though grudgingly, the serious and
wide-ranging socio-cultural and political implications of digitalisation in
civilisational terms. Decisive preventive steps are being taken, including banning of
the use of digital technologies until certain age and grade in schools and legislating
its use in other spheres of life as well.

24 Suresh Suratwala

state power and, thereby control India's economy as well. Similarly,
in the North America, U.K. and several other economically
advanced countries, the crisis-ridden global capitalism, facing
increasing unemployment (as is the case with India, too), has
chosen to “ride piggy-back on the far right wing upsurge”. The
far right forces in the USA, in turn, misled the people during the last
Presidential elections by diverting attention from the systemic crisis
of capitalism to the migrant low-wage workers belonging to the
races other than the dominant white population. In this manner, the
non-white races were made the villain, instead of neoliberal
capitalism and the question of unemployment was turned into a
racial question, thereby polarising the white population to result in
President Trump's victory. This uncanny resemblance between the
rise of the Hindu Rashtra forces in India and the far right
upsurge in the economically advanced countries in recent years
must be analysed and the ideological implications of the neo¬
liberal capitalist fascist policies internalised by the VOs. Only then
the VOs would be politically mature enough to come together and
fight unitedly against the neo-liberal capitalist fascist assault on
India's political economy by constituting a common Non-party
Political Forum, as passionately and correctly advocated by the
author in Chapter 7 (p. 139).

Lessons from Devapur Project

As we will see in Chapter 8 (‘Lessons to Learn’), the following
conceptual lessons of socio-political significance have been drawn
by the author from his experience of rural development work in the
Devapur Project (summarized from the Chapter’s text; operational
lessons have been excluded):

'T' Rural development work at micro-level cannot ever lead to the
required structural transformation . . . without concurrent
macro-level policy support . . . and, if necessitated, through
Constitutional amendments. “Unless some radical structural
changes ... are concomitantly brought about, no amount of. . .

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 25

rural development work would . . . create a social order based
on equality and social justice and free of discrimination . . . the
status-quo continues and, at best, only an idealised model like
an 'Oasis in the Deserf is created which . . . ironically . . .
enables the upper classes and upper castes to strengthen
their capacity to further exploit and marginalise [emphasis
mine] (p. 141).”

“Individual Freedom, Civil Liberty, Socio-economic Equality,
Social Justice, Ethical and Moral Values . . . constitute the vital
pillars of the process of development . . . must not be either
ignored or neglected [emphasis mine] (pp. 141-142).” Yet,
these very 'vital pillars' have no space in the rural development
programmes or the academic courses that prepare workers for
the same.

"... land ownership pattern in rural society i.e. the relations
between the landlords and labourers . . . issue of the incremental
corporate ownership . . . over all other natural resources . . .
have crucial implications . . . However, in Functional Planning .

. . these crucial issues are not taken into account and rural
development is carried out not only within the prevailing socio¬
economic framework but also to reinforce it . . . the rich
become richer and the poor become poorer, thereby increasing
inequality. Hence, our submission: poverty is not the basic
problem but inequality in ownership pattern of the natural
resources is the fundamental problem [emphasis mine] (p.
142)”

'T' Agricultural pricing policy is turned against the rural economy
in general and the small and marginalised farmers, artisans and
landless labour, in particular. The seller i.e. the farmer is in no
position to decide the market price of agricultural produce.
Instead, the traders and buyers decide the price. In the case of
industry, trade or services, the price of the product is basically
determined by the manufacturer/ frader/service provider, not the
buyer. Until and unless, such basic policy issues are not settled.

26 Suresh Suratwala

“no amount of rural development would resolve the . . . rural
crisis - . . . consequence of the increasing disparity between
the cities and villages due to the pricing policies deliberately
favouring the urban-based industry, trade and the service
sector . . . discriminating against . . . agricultural and
artisanal production . . . multiple productive activities
undertaken by the landless labour [emphasis mine] (p. 144)”.

'T' “The real yard stick of rural development is neither the
construction of various buildings, roads and utilities or increase
in agricultural production and income nor providing more
welfare facilities and amenities . . . the ultimate goal of rural
development must not be reduced merely to such material and
economic improvements. It has to .. . include . . . the question
of human and social development . . . calls for increased
community consciousness and fellow feeling . . . the human
values must prevail, and the finer qualities of fellow feeling
must grow. . . to create a New Society with new human
relationships . . . sacrifice individual good for the community
well being . . . strengthening social harmony. . . [this] can
happen only by annihilating the hegemony of class, caste,
creed, race, patriarchy, languages, birth place and the
'normal' body [emphasis mine]. These should be the yard
sticks . . . On the contrary, even after sustained rural work . . .
the community stands divided . . . there are more cases in the
police stations and the courts . . . inter-family feuds for petty
selfish interests have exacerbated. Is this the development that
inspired us? . .. (pp.144-145).”

We need to examine each of the above lessons of the Devapur
Project drawn by the author in light of the rich ideological debate
that preceded the ‘transfer of power’ in 1947. If this exercise is
undertaken analytically, one would realize that the outcome of the

^*This assertion takes cue from the central logic of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's
historic essay entitled, Annihilation of Caste, 1936 (For this essay’s weblink, see
Footnote 12 in the Introduction).

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 27

Devapur Project was a foregone conclusion. It would also become
clear that the question of ideology can be avoided only at great risk
to the future of our country.

Dilemma, an Agonising Dilemma

The author poses the following agonising dilemma, expressed
here through selected excerpts from his last Chapter (Chapter 10),
appropriately titled ‘Introspection on Some Basic Questions’:

. . about 50 years ago, the people of the drought-prone Maan
Taluka, where Sir Dorabji Tata Trust worked for rural
development, were severely impoverished (p. 158) . . . Our
intentions and objectives were never limited to just bringing about
material development. . . our goal was also to transform the quality
of life, instil human values and improve social relationships (pp.
152-153)."

"We were keen that . . . the people would retain . . . their finer
human sensitivities and values which they had in ample measure
before we started our work in 1955 ... we found the local people to
be . . . definitely ethically rich, having finer sensitivities for each
other . . . [now] they are . . . having a much more comfortable life
than before, enjoying good food, clothing, shelter, employment and
livelihood and better educational and health facilities and other
amenities, along with the modem means of transport, recreation and
comforts {See Chapters 3 & 4 for deatils). However, ... in the race
for material and economic development, we have lost the good old
human being of the . . . impoverished Devapur Project villages . . .

^^For the limited purpose of this book, one is consciously not assigning any motives
to the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust in undertaking the Devapur Project, assuming that it
was motivated by the good old philanthropy promoted by the liberal values of
capitalism - to be distinguished from the present neo-liberal project of ‘Corporate
Social Responsibility’ (CSR). Let us, at least for the time being, accept the author’s
assertion that he had full freedom to decide his course of action (See Preface, p. 4,
italics). However, even this assertion does not rule out the implicit undeclared
agenda of the Trust that would be the operative agenda of the ‘national bourgeoisie’
but then that is yet another, though entirely inter-linked and unavoidable, debate
altogether.

28 Suresh Suratwala

the people have become far more selfish, greedy and individualistic,
leading to loss of fellow-feeling. . . There are more vices, increased
quarrels within the family as well as the community ... several-fold
more lawyers to deal with them. The local people are invariably
under some stress. . . despite the so-called better ‘education’. . .
Ironically. . . prosperity led to loss of the finer human qualities,
happiness and a life of satisfaction . . .[emphasis mine] (pp. 153-
154).”

The agonised author inquires, “Why is it that the impoverished
human being has finer human sensitivities and social consciousness
than when she/he becomes prosperous with access to amenities and
comforts? Why do the finer qualities of a human being get eroded
during her/his material and economic improvement (p. 154)?
[emphasis mine ]."

Puzzled and distressed, the author continues, .. If it is so, then
why do we pursue the so-called progress and development and for
what purpose? Why do we try to improve the material conditions of
people, if we cannot make them happy? [emphasis mine], . . How
does one ensure that we do not become more selfish, accept vices,
become jealous or get involved in conflicts . . .? Is it only because
of materialism, consumerism, urbanization, modernization and
industrialization? ... We tend to argue that education could provide
a solution . . . My observation . . . the more an individual is
‘educated’, the more skills she/he acquires to manipulate, exploit
and oppress others. A formally ‘educated’ person is less inclined to
help others than otherwise. ‘Educated ’ persons generally tend to be
more self-centred, sectarian and manipulative than an illiterate and
poor but hard-working persons. . . . Why then educate the people
(pp. 154-155)^^? "

^^The author's twin agonising questions regarding the soeial function of education
must not be glossed over. He inquires, (a) "But, does education really transform the
human being into becoming a better human being?" and (b) "Why then educate the
people?" Both questions have civilizational implications. The answer to these
fundamental questions have been insightfully provided by Albert Einstein in his

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 29

"... a person, whether an upper caste or a SC/ST/OBC or suffering
from any other deprivation, gets an opportunity by gaining a higher
position in society, she/he is more than likely to use her/his
knowledge and skills to exploit not only others but her/his own
brethren, too [emphasis mine], . . [Why?] These are some of my
fundamental questions whose answers I am seeking (p. 155)."

". . . / would prefer to clearly dijferentiate between

DEVELOPMENT/PROGRESS, on the one hand, and
TRANSFORMATION, on the other [emphasis mine] . . . the VOs are
not in a position to bring about. . . fundamental transformation . . .
or even inculcate human sensitivity and fellow feeling [emphasis
mine], . . even the genuine VOs committed to bringing about
fundamental transformations in society . . . end up making the
required adjustments and compromises for their survival (pp.
156,157)."

“There is universal praise for all the good work I did ... by quitting
the city of Bombay at the age of 25 years and working with the
people for the next 35 years . . . However, this does not satisfy me at
all... I have introspected over the afore-mentioned issues deeply . .

. but I have not been able to find any meaningful answer ... I
decided to put down my views in the form of a book, in the hope that
my readers will try to help me [emphasis mine]. . . Here is the
pointed question. . .: After obtaining higher edueation in soeial
seienee and applying the knowledge by working sineerely with
the people, have I done well of the people or have I led them to
more misery and suffering? Why does poverty bring out the good
qualities of a human being and why do they disappear when she/he

classical essay, “Why Socialism?” written in May, 1949 whose three paragraphs
have been excerpted and reproduced in this Introduction's last Section named,
'LOOKING AHEAD' (pp.40-4I). The parts of the last two paragraphs which are
relevant to exploring the answer are shown in bold fonts. The power of the answer
lies in envisaging education not in ideological vacuum but in the perspective of
building a socialist economy. Hopefully, Albert Einstein's essay would encourage
the readers to read the writings of other revolutionary educationists as well. What is
ailing India's education since independence can't be cured without deconstructing
and reconstructing our education policies in a socialist perspective.

30 Suresh Suratwala

is better off, when the material conditions improve? Why does such
a paradoxical transformation take place? (160)"

"The author is deeply concerned that the “process of development.
.. in an unequal society, leads to increase in inequality [emphasis
mine] He proposes that “one solution appears to be equitable
distribution of the natural resources and means of production like
land and water, as directed by the Constitution in Articles 39(b) and
39(c) respectively.” “But how could it be done?”, he asks in the
same breadth. As if trying to answer his own question, the author
raises a fundamental issue related to the nature of knowledge in
social science. He writes, “In the field of social science, two types
of planning, namely Structural Planning and Functional
Planning have been recognized. But what we generally do and
what I did for 35 years is only Functional Planning without
bringing about any change in the structure of the society
[emphasis mine], ” Significantly, the author later flags the “problem
of organizing the masses in the rural areas, particularly the
agricultural labourers, into an effective and sustainable mass
movement for (a) short term gains and benefits and (b) long term
goal of creating a new society [emphasis mine]. ”

Engaging with the Dilemma

Here is a story of an extra-ordinarily passionate 25-year old
post-graduate in Applied Social Science in 1955 from Mumbai, in
the years still inspired by the anti-colonial freedom struggle
including the Gandhian call to the youth 'to go to the villages', who
voluntarily uprooted himself from his metropolitan middle class
background in order to ‘redeem his pledge’ [in Nehru's words cited
from his 'Tryst with Destiny' midnight speech on the intermittent
night of August 14-15, 1947] to the people of his country. He
moved to drought-stricken nine villages of Maharashtra for the next

^‘'Xhese are some reflections of the author after completing the manuscript in 2006,
excerpted from a Background Note dated June 18, 2008 sent to me. For detailed
data-based elaboration, see the author's monograph entitled, 'Real Economic
Problems of India: Inequality Not Poverty, Unemployment Not Growth', 2016.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 31

35 years and worked with unusual sincerity and commitment to
bring about rural development For him, as we now see, rural
development incontrovertibly meant development with social
transformation, in sharp contrast to those who would indulge in
self-glorification by showing off the evidence of material or
physical improvement. The author’s self-critical mind and
unshakable commitment to the goal of building an egalitarian and
just social order in consonance with the Constitution will not allow
him to seek such indulgence from the visible material and physical
development that was brought about in abundance in the Devapur
Project. Neither the Indian state would ever offer him any Padma or
other such awards nor would his conscience allow him to accept
such a bourgeois award even if one was offered. His dreams are
apparently akin to the Gandhian ideals of building a vibrant self-
reliant rural economy where villages will act as ‘Republics’ whose
social relations, both within and with the world outside, and ethical
values will be moulded by Nai Taleem’s transformative vision of
education . At the same time, his dilemma is clearly born out of
his socialist yearnings rooted in the Marxist concern for creating
a new human being for building a humane society. If this was not
the case, there would have been no dilemma at all, agonizing or
otherwise!

Given the unstinted support from one of the most ‘liberal’
corporate house of India of the times viz.. Sir Dorabji Tata Trust
(SDTT), neither funds nor technical expertise were lacking^^. Yet,

^^Those interested to delve deeper in this subject may like to look at my own work
viz. The Pedagogic Essence of Nai Taleem: Reconstructing Its Role in
Contemporary Curriculum, in ‘The Living Gandhi: Lessons for Our Times’,
(Sethia, Tara & Narayan, Anjana Eds.), Penguin Books India, 2013, pp. 163-179).
See also my seven-lecture series delivered at Gujarat Vidyapeeth, Ahmedabad,
Guajarat, March 2010 : www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq2XwDTq3Ko
^*At this juncture, it would be worthwhile to note that KISHORE BHARATI also
received generous and 'seemingly' unconditional financial support from the same Sir
Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT) in its crucial initial years and beyond that phase as well
(from 1972 to 1990). In this context, the association of the author with KISHORE
BHARATI is only coincidental. However, as the work of KISHORE BHARATI

32 Suresh Suratwala

the central character and the narrator of this story, after handing
over the social and economic institutions, built up assiduously
during the Devapur Project, to the local people, winds up the entire
project in early 1990s. By then, 60 years old, he returns to the same
metropolitan Mumbai which he quit in 1955 - frustrated and
despondent and deeply concerned, not about himself, but about the
people and the country that beckoned him at the age of 25. Clearly,
the romantic engagement is over but the author’s patriotic,
socially committed and intellectual mind is raising discomforting
questions and posing dilemmas for social scientists, planners and
policy makers, the ruling class in particular.

The lessons of the Devapur Project drawn by the author and
the guidelines offered by him for Voluntary Organisations (VOs)
provide further clues for addressing the questions and dilemmas
raised by Devapur’s ‘paradoxical transformation’ (see previous
sections). Here is an attempt, though in an exploratory mode, to
respond.

To be sure, at least a part of the answer will necessarily have to
be sought in the historical debates on the development model and

was increasingly politicized dirring the course of the next 7-8 years, tensions grew
and the negotiations for continued financial support became increasingly complex
and sensitive. My considered opinion in hindsight: Had KISHORE BHARATI not
wound up its rural campus and returned the leased land to the M.P. state government
by 1992 just when the neo-liberal policy framework began to be instituted in
India - SDTT would have been persuaded to decline the eontinuation of its
financial support. I have a reasonable ground for making this statement. In 1997-
98, I approached SDTT on behalf of Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha (BJVJ), led by the
nationally reputed educationist, Prof. Yash Pal, for support to its ‘LOKSHALA
PROGRAMME’ - a nation-wide action plan of social intervention to bring about
transformation in the elementary education policy framework and reverse the
ongoing World Bank-dictated neo-liberal assault on the school system. After due
deliberations, the support was politely but firmly declined! “Yours is not the task to
bring about policy changes. That is a task for the Government. Go to a village
anywhere in the country and settle down there as you did earlier in 1971-72 and full
support will follow as before, just by sending a post card.”, is precisely what 1 was
told, rather patronisingly, at the Bombay House, the SDTT Headquarters. Even Prof.
Yash Pal's credibility did not make an iota of difference. The reader is free to draw
one’s own inference from this narrative (See Chapter 5, Footnote 39).

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 33

socio-economic policy that informed India’s Freedom Struggle,
summarized earlier in this Introduction. The Devapur Project was
initiated in mid-1950s when the Indian state was still at least
claiming to be a welfare state and pursuing its ‘mixed economic
policy’. The project was wound up in early 1990s when the Indian
state had formally opened its doors to the policies of globalization
and, giving up all pretension of a welfare state, was blatantly
pursuing the neo-liberal model of development. This pursuit, since
1991, has been undertaken increasingly even at the cost of India’s
sovereignty and the Constitution’s vision of building a democratic,
socialist, secular, egalitarian, socially just and enlightened society.
Both models of development - the welfarist and the neo-liberal —
are basically capitalist development models and both promoted
Public Private Partnership (PPP), overtly or otherwise. Yet, the
differences are striking. During the 1950s, the state played a
dominant role and the capitalist class was a dependent and junior
partner. In contrast, from 1991 onwards, the global capital through
its agency viz., the Indian capitalist class, in incremental measure, is
dictating terms to the Indian state. Ironically, the global capital
continues to require the Indian state for its own greed and growth as
long as the state is under its control. Let us record the major
changes that have taken place in this intervening period of seven
decades:

i. Indian state’s co-ordinates with respect to its political economy
have entirely changed, undeniably against the interest of the
Indian masses, from being a welfare state (at least claiming to
be and perhaps even striving to be under public pressure) to
those of a neo-liberal state. This implies a major change in the
state’s relationship with its people — from the people being
citizens of a sovereign democratic Republic in 1950s as
enshrined in the Constitution to the state acting as a market
provider at the behest of the global capital and the people being
treated merely as customers and consumers, rather than as
citizens, incrementally from 1990s onwards to date.

34 Suresh Suratwala

ii. The state has begun to rapidly abdicate its Constitutional
obligations with respect to the masses and nation’s natural,
intellectual and socio-cultural resources by outsourcing its
responsibilities to a greedy and exploitative market,
increasingly through PPP i.e. by shifting public resources to the
private capital.

hi. The Constitutional concepts of equality and social justice stand
replaced by the so-called ‘inclusive policies’ since the 11th
Fiver-Year Plan wherein the character of ‘inclusion’ — its
coverage, mode and quantum - is decided at the behest of the
global capital for preparing a cheap slavish global workforce,
rather than for fulfilling the aspirations of the masses in
consonance with the Constitution. In other words, the neo¬
liberal policies are designed to first exclude a substantial
proportion of the masses, primarily Bahujans^^, from their
Constitutional Right to equitable development and then to
‘include’ a miniscule proportion of them at varying levels of
exploitative wages as enslaved global workforce, at terms and
conditions set by the market, not the Constitutional imperatives.
This is precisely the design of the much-hyped Skill India
Mission linked to Make in India, operating since 2014, for
ensuring the supply of cheap labour to attract finance capital

from elsewhere to India on the promise of optimum profit and
28

enslaved labour.

iv. For the past five years, the dynamics of the neo-liberal assault
on India's political economy has undergone substantial changes
- both in terms of its pace and parameters. These assaults are
misleadingly labelled as 'reforms', instead of 'deforms'. They
represent the deepening crisis of global capitalism compelling
the Indian state to kowtow to its ever alarming demands of

^^Bahujans, comprising SCs, STs, OBCs, Muslims and De-notified & Nomadic

tribes, make up more than 85% of India’s people.

^*For detailed policy analysis, see Sadgopal, Anil, 'Skill India ' or Deskilling India:

An Agenda for Exclusion, Economic & Political Weekly, Mumbai, 27th August

2016, pp. 33-37.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 35

heightened levels of penetration by global capital i.e. using
euphemisms such as ‘Ease of Business’ while permitting
incrementally unregulated extraction and exploitation of Indian
economy and resources, both human and natural. Even more
dangerously, the neo-liberal eapitalism has managed to
divert attention from its systemie erisis by ‘riding piggy-
baek on the Hindu Rashtra forees in order exploit India’s
vast market and rich natural resources’, as is evident from the
outcome of the Loksabha Elections (May, 2019).

Undoubtedly, the Lessons of the Devapur Project need to be
viewed and deciphered in the above perspective of political
economy. After all, we must understand, as the author himself
emphasizes, that rural development is not undertaken in isolation of
the socio-economic policies — national or international. Let us also
recall that the Devapur Project was conceived when the ‘mixed
economic policy’, rooted in the Bombay Plan of the Indian capitalist
class, was being implemented. As noted earlier, in this framework,
the entire Gandhian vision of rejuvenation of the rural society and
its economy stood marginalized from even before India became
independent. Rural development was relegated as a dependent
variable in planning — dependent on the dominant policies of
centralised industrialization and concomitant urbanization, to the
utter neglect of the agenda of socio-economic transformation of
rural India. Although the Public Sector played a dominant role in
industrial development, as per Bombay Plan, this, too, was designed
to promote the capitalist class i.e. centralization of capital and
means of production in a few hands and continued exploitation of
labour for the benefit of the capitalist class . Where was then any

is falsely assumed and claimed that the post-independence economic policies of
1950s were socialist. What is true is that, as per the Bombay Plan (1945), the Public
Sector in various spheres of national life dominated the Five-Year Plans, possibly
up to late-1980s. Thanks to the Nehruvian vision, the Public Sector clearly laid a
futuristic multi-dimensional reliable foundation of national economy based upon
which India could successfully withstand the cycles of crises of global capitalism in
the past two decades and also ensure a strong foundation for today's new

36 Suresh Suratwala

chance for the Devapur Project to unfold as per the social vision of
the author of this book, his unquestionable commitment and
missionary zeal notwithstanding?

Similarly, the prevailing NGO sector has nothing in common
anymore with either the philanthropic and charity-oriented
organizations of the past or the Gandhian voluntary organizations of
pre-independence or post-independence era (See Footnote 19 in
Introduction for the rationale of not using the term 'Voluntary
Organisations', VOs, in this context). This powerful and vast NGO
sector, with honourable exceptions apart, now essentially represents
the interest of the global corporate capital and is designed
accordingly. The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an
evidence of collusion between the state and the corporate capital in
order to promote the latter's selfish interests. It hardly matters
whether the NGOs are funded directly by the World Bank or the
inter-govemmental agencies like DFID or UN agencies or by the
Indian state and any of its myriad funding agencies, both in the
public and private sectors. The agenda of the NGO sector is
basically shaped by the global capital and market. Indeed, in
devious ways, the NGO sector of the neo-liberal phase of capitalism
has now become an instrument of not only maintaining the status
quo but also of diffusing mass struggles aimed at structural
transformation. This latter role becomes especially evident when the
mass struggles begin to challenge the fundamental design of
capitalism i.e. controlling and moulding global intellectual, socio¬
cultural and natural resources for profit, subjugation and hegemony.

development plans, including use of space for communication and strategic
digitalisation. None of these facts, however, allow us to construe that India was
following a socialist path of development. On the contrary, the Indian state since
independence pursued what essentially amounted to a capitalist model of
development. The Public Sector came under a series of increasing assaults from
1991 onwards (including disinvestments and derailments) in order to promote
private capital, with rising levels of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs). During the
last five years, the dynamics of these attacks has accelerated several-fold, resulting
in diluting and distorting the Public Sector to dangerously low levels, to the
detriment of both the national economy and public welfare.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 37

Hence, contrary to what the author hopes for, there is little rational
basis for expecting such agencies to come together to form a Non-
party Political Platform for the purpose of advancing the social
transformation agenda^*’. The earlier we come out of this wishful
thinking, the easier it will become to strategise and carry forward
mass struggles (and hopefully, people's movements, too) for
socialist reconstruction of Indian polity and society.

Functional Planning vs. Structural Planning

At this juncture, 1 must raise an epistemological issue with
respect to the post-graduate course of ‘Applied Social Sciences’ that
the author completed at the Tata Institute of Social Science (TISS)
in 1955 before starting the Devapur Project. The categorisation of
rural development in terms of 'functional planning’ and "structural
planning' in the course, as reported by the author, is itself highly
problematic. This is because it seems to completely by-pass the then
existing knowledge of philosophy and social science relating to how
human societies evolve and change, with the social structures
playing a determining role. The course design refuses to learn from
the historic struggles waged by Phule, Ambedkar and Periyar to
demolish the Brahmnical structure of caste as a pre-condition for
liberation of the masses. Nor does it learn from Shaheed Bhagat
Singh’s challenge to imperialism in order to make India’s Freedom
Struggle an instrument of socialist reconstruction instead of being
merely ‘transfer of power’ from ‘white’ sahibs to ‘brown’ sahibs, ft
also ignores the world history of the formidable socialist
experiments in the 19* and 20* centuries and the rich experience of
social transformation through mass movements. To say the least, the
TISS course over-simplifies the question of “what is development
and how to engage with it” and, in the process, reduces it to these

^"Even at the cost of repetition, it would be worthwhile to emphasise that, with rare
exceptions, the Voluntary Organisations (VOs), representing the legacy of the
Freedom Struggle, have steadily metamorphosed into NGOs under the impact of the
neo-liberal policies since early 1990s (See Introduction, Footnote 19 for
elaboration).

38 Suresh Suratwala

rather superficial, if not even misleading, categories. It is not just
that the course was only ‘theoretical’ and had little relevance for
rural areas, as the author laments. Rather, the course is premised
on a misconceived theory of development and, therefore, designed
to mislead the students and, through them, to derail the rural
development work they undertake.

Politics of Being Apolitical & Denying Ideology

Let me take this opportunity to underline an issue of great
political significance. Irrespective of one’s ideological position, the
pre-independence debate reveals that those who deny interest in the
question of ideology and claim to be interested only in ‘charitable
activities’, ‘practical or constructive work’, ‘helping the people’ or
‘social work’ implicitly carry their own ideology, ether
camouflaged or unarticulated as the case may be. Evidently, the
proportion of such people and NGOs is rapidly increasing in the
prevailing neo-liberal economic order. They are being funded by
government-supported powerful and well-oiled private foundations
in the name of charity or philanthropy, both from within and outside
India. One can meaningfully engage with a clearly stated
ideological position, whether one accepts the position or rejects it or
seeks modifications therein. But it can be quite difficult to engage
with what is either camouflaged or unarticulated as this would be
like shooting in dark. The claim of not having any ideology
essentially amounts to a pretension of ‘being depoliticized’ since
this in itself is an ideological and political position, full of
inherently far more dangerous implications than otherwise!

Light at the End of the Tunnel: Mass Movements

The author deserves kudos for his ongoing critical reflection
leading to his later realization of the significance of mass
movements in achieving the goals of development. This calls for
some elaboration. He has rightly distinguished, as reported earlier,
between “an ejfective and sustainable mass movement for short
term gains and benefits” and “long term goal of creating a new

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 39

society (Chapter 10, p.l61) [emphasis mine].” This clearly implies
that the author, discarding the misconceived notion of "structural
planning' and 'functional planning’ imparted by TISS, is presently
engaging with the vexed political question: How can the mass
movements for short-term demands shift from their prevailing
diversionary agenda of ‘economism’ to that of socio-political
transformation? Let us celebrate this moment as it shows that the
author, despite his agonizing dilemma and ailing body (but an
agile questioning mind) at the age almost 90 years, has brilliantly
managed to penetrate the epistemic curtain of the misleading
knowledge doled out to him in 1950s by an higher education
institution of capitalist development and also to see the SATYA
(TRUTH) through the lens of his conscience, while also showing
us all, light at the end of the tunnel!

Looking Ahead

Let me conclude by citing from Albert Einstein’s classical
essay, “Why Socialism?” written in May, 1949 -

“1 have now reached the point where 1 may indicate briefly
what to me constitutes the essence of the crisis of our time. It
concerns the relationship of the individual to society. . . his
position in society is such that the egotistical drives of his
make-up are constantly being accentuated, while his social
drives, which are by nature weaker, progressively deteriorate. .

.” [It is uncanny the way this is precisely what the Devapur
Project too reveals.]

“The economic anarchy of capitalist society as it exists today
is, in my opinion, the real source of the evil. . . The owner of
the means of production is in a position to purchase the labor
power of the worker. By using the means of production, the
worker produces new goods which become the property of the
capitalist. . . Private capital tends to become concentrated in
few hands, partly because of competition among the capitalists
. . . The result of these developments is an oligarchy of private
capital the enormous power of which cannot be effectively

40 Suresh Suratwala

checked even by a democratically organized political society .

. . Unlimited competition leads to a huge waste of labour, and
to that crippling of the social consciousness of individuals . . .

This crippling of individuals I consider the worst evil of
capitalism. Our whole educational system suffers from this
evil. An exaggerated competitive attitude is inculcated into
the student, who is trained to worship acquisitive success
as a preparation for his future career^\”

“I am convinced there is only one way to eliminate these
grave evils, namely through the establishment of a socialist
economy, accompanied by an educational system which
would be oriented toward social goals. In such an economy,
the means of production are owned by society itself and are
utilized in a planned fashion . . . The education of the
individual, in addition to promoting his own innate
abilities, would attempt to develop in him a sense of
responsibility for his fellow men in place of the
glorification of power and success in our present society.”
[This also explains the paradox faced by Gandhi’s Nai Taleem
which aimed at social transformation but did not envisage a
change in the control of the means of production from that of
the tiny minority of capitalists to the whole society. This, too,
was the agonising paradox experienced by the Devapur
Project (See Chapter 10, p.l55 wherein the author raised the
question: Why then educate the people?)]

There is a clear path for moving forward. We must leam to
pursue the scientific path of structural transformation from the
capitalist mode of production to the socialist mode of production.
Those NGOs (or even the VOs), who fear to engage with this

^'Xhese insightful observation in bold fonts on education along with the related
observation in the following paragraph are of fundamental significance to the crisis
facing India's education system. The crisis is also reflected in the lives of the
educated youth of the Devapur Project villages. The author has raised agonising
questions based upon his disturbing observations on the social role of the educated
youth {See Introduction, Footnote 23 and the relevant paragraph excerpted on pp.
29-30 from the Chapter 10).

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 41

ideological challenge and feign to be apolitical, do more damage to
society than those who remain passive. This path calls for
unlearning our typically ahistorical and unscientific mode of
thinking. There is hope if we decide to learn from the 20* century
history of the inspiring socialist experiments in different parts of the
world. When we do this, we will ensure that we learn about the
great potential of these experiments while, at the same time, not
ignore the inevitable historical errors and misjudgements that led to
the fragmentation of the great socialist vision The weakening of the
international socialist movement during 1990s opened up dangerous
corridors for the neoliberal capital to march ahead, thereby
enslaving the global economy along with the human mind and the
popular culture of the struggling working class .

Indeed, historically speaking, there is no space whatsoever for
frustration or despondency experienced by the author during the last
phase of the Devapur Project and thereafter, though his later
realisation, as mentioned above, of the role of mass movements to
effect social transformation has rekindled hope. Rather, it is time
that we prepare ourselves for a protracted struggle with a view to
decisively intervene in the state’s prevailing socio-political and
institutional structures and processes, which have now assumed
dangerous neo-liberal forms, reinforced by the Hindu Rashtra
ideology, in order to bring about pro-people changes therein. But
this cannot happen without simultaneously mobilizing the masses
for building resistance to the capitalist model of development and to
explore and create an alternative socialist model. It must also be
underlined that it is not enough to oppose the various agencies of
the global capitalism viz.. World Bank, IMF, WTO and other
international funding agencies. Strategically, this, too, may have to
be done. Our real battle, however, is for demolishing capitalism and
replacing it with socialism aimed at creating a new human being for

this context, it is imperative that we deconstruct the counter-revoiutionary roie
piayed by digitaiisation, at the behest of neoiiberaiism, to "ensiave the human mind
and the popuiar cuiture of the working ciass." See Footnote 20 in this Introduction.

42 Suresh Suratwala

a humane society, which precisely was also the lifelong pursuit of
the author of this book.

In this context, Shaheed Shankar Guha Niyogi’s political
philosophy of ‘Sangharsh aur Nirman’ i.e. ‘Struggle and
Reconstruction’, developed during the historic struggles of the iron
ore mine workers in Chhattisgarh from 1977 to 1991, shows us a
new radical path^^. By walking on this path, we can hope to
transform India as per the aspirations of the Anti-imperialist and
Anti-Caste Freedom Struggle and its outcome in the form of the
Constitution. This calls for critical reconstruction of the essence of
Gandhi’s transformative civilisational vision in syncretic debate
with Savitribai & Jotirao Phule-Periyar-Ambedkar’s historic
critique of the oppressive and exploitative structures of caste and
patriarchy and of both of these with Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s vision
of socialist reconstruction of the Indian society and polity. This twin
Anti-imperialist and Anti-caste discourse of the Freedom Struggle,
elaborated in the earlier part of this Introduction, is pregnant with
far-reaching revolutionary implications for, not just India, but the
whole of South Asia — the sub-continental region that shared, in
more ways than one, the inspiring history of our common Freedom
Struggle, symbolising the people's yearning for philosophical
syncretism, as articulated by the Sufi Poets.

Call to Youth to Face the Reality: Redeeming the Pledge

More than a quarter century after the Devapur Project was
terminated in 1990, Suresh Suratwala, the author of this book, by
then 86 years old, wrote a 64-page Monograph in 2016 entitled,
'Real Economic Problems of India: Inequality, Not Poverty;
Unemployment, Not [Economic] Growth'. This Monograph was
based on numerous reports, studies and data concerning India's and
global socio-economic condition. These were published in a
spectrum of newspapers, journals and surveys which he collected

^^Sadgopal, Anil and Namra, Shyam Bahadur (Eds.), Sangharsh aur Nirmaan,
Rajkamal Prakashan, New Delhi, 1993.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 43

meticulously, clipped and classified them in files, like a keen
college student would have done in the pre-internet era. He backed
up this material by studying the works of the French Economist
Prof. Thomas Piketty, presently a world authority on inequality and
poverty and also Prof Joseph Stiglitz, an american Nobel Laureate
in Economics who is now a known critic of the globalisation
policies, apart from screening the writings of a range of other
scholars from different countries as well.

As he analysed and internalised the knowledge, he came to the
conclusion that poverty in India and the world is a direct
consequence of the increasing inequalities which in turn also lead to
rise in unemployment and, therefore, result in socio-political
instability (see Epilogue for hard data on the dangerous levels of
inequality and unemployment in India: pp. 168-170 & 170
respectively). Further, Ihe mindless automation Ihrough
digilalisalion and now accelerated by Artificial Intelligence (AI) are
nol only massively dis-employing people bul also contributing to
inequality by shifting the people's income to the mega-corporates
investing heavily in digital and AI technology. Neilher the high
rates of GDP growth nor the rising number of billionaires have any
solution to this global crisis. On the contrary, they are the
contributors to the problem, or more precisely, the problem itself!

The root of the aforesaid phenomenon of generating
inequalities and 'producing' unemployment lies in the uncontrollable
cycles of crises of global capitalism since early 2000s (the earlier
crisis of 1930s led to Fascism in Europe). This compels the global
capitalist forces to increasingly exploit new markets and control
natural and human resources all over the world, especially in the
developing countries, in order to somehow manage the crisis. This
phase of global capitalism is recognised as the neo-liberal economic
order wherein the Finance Capital plays a determining role. India's
ParliamenI and our slate assemblies tend to pass legislations and
take decisions under the dictates of the neo-liberal capital and its

44 Suresh Suratwala

varied agencies like IMF, World Bank and WTO. In this sense,
India's sovereignty is facing severe attrition.

It was in similar backdrop in October 2011 that lacs of U.S.
youth adopted the Gandhian mode of non-violent protest to organise
massive 'Occupy Wall Street' (OWS) movements (the New York
Stock Exchange located on the Wall Street, one of the most
powerful stock exchanges globally, deals with Finance Capital to
'loot' the world). The OWS movement gave the universally inspiring
slogan, 'We are the 99%' i.e. while 1% of the wealthiest essentially
controls the global wealth, we represent the rest of the world's
people. The protesters focused on occupying banks, corporate
headquarters, board meetings and college and university campuses.
The OWS movement resonated the spirit of the Indian Freedom
Struggle where similar 'OCCUPY' protests, like 'Bum the British
Cloth' as part of the Swadeshi movement, the 'Salt Satyagrah' or
mass Non-Co-operation Movements were orders of the day, thereby
shaking the roots of the vast British empire.

India's university students also organised the 'Occupy UGC
movement in Delhi in October-December 2015 on two counts i.e.
(i) UGC to 'restore, enhance and extend the 'Non-NET Fellowships'
of the research scholars and (ii) the Govt, of India to withdraw our
higher education from the portals of the WTO. While, on the first
count, the battle was won and the Fellowships restored but on the
second count the battle continues to date. The core agenda of the
student movements in several universities has been to reverse
commoditisation, centralisation and communalisation of education,
apart from protecting students' educational rights with social justice
and campus democracy; and also resisting caste/gender/linguistic
discrimination.

Nothing less than the spirit of our Freedom Stmggle and 'We
are the 99%' movement is waiting to be rejuvenated in order to save
India from the recurrent crises of the global capitalism resulting in
neoliberal assaults on the quality of people's life and freedoms. The
nation's students and youth have the required energy and

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 45

imagination to reclaim this potential of the Freedom Struggle and
redefine the destiny of India’s 130 crore people! Let us take
inspiration from the modem messiah of equality with Social Justice;
annihilation of caste and patriarchy; and building socialist economy
namely, Babasaheb Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, Chairperson, Drafting
Committee of the Constitution of India (see Epilogue for his
stimulating Constituent Assembly speech delivered on 26th
November 1949: p. 166). India's youth also take inspiration from
Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s revolutionary thoughts to liberate India
from global imperialism and, at the same time, to sfruggle to
establish socialist economy in India. We look forward to them to
realise the seriousness of the crisis our country is going through and
rise together to fulfil the 'unfinished agenda' of India's Freedom
Sfruggle and redeem the Constitutional imperatives, before it is too
late! The martyrdom of Shaheed Rohith Vemula is also giving us a
clarion call to "Educate! Agitate!! Organise!!!". The history shall
not forgive us if we dither in fulfilling the national call given by
Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his co-martyrs Shaheed Rajgum and
Shaheed Sukhdev on 23rd March 1931 from the Lahore Jail.
Inquilaab Zindabaad!

- Bhopal/20th June 2019

46 Suresh Suratwala

GENESIS OF THE PROJECT

A sense of 'Social Responsibility’ and a concern for the
impoverished has permeated the evolution of the Tata House
from its inception, ever since the days of its founder J. N.
Tata. Creation of the various Public Trusts for the relief of distress,
advancement of education, science and the arts, and provision for
medical assistance, almost simultaneously with the establishment of
industries, bears ample testimony to this history.

However, till 1950, the philanthropic activities of the various
Tata Trusts were confined largely to the promotion of higher
education and scientific research, provision of specialized medical
facilities and relief of distress caused by nature such as floods,
droughts, earthquakes and fires. Apart from sporadic efforts,
involved in the relief of distress, which many a times covered
extensive geographical areas, both urban and rural, various
activities of the Tata Trusts had an urban bias. Along with National
level institutions like the Indian Institute of Science (Bengaluru),
the Tata Institute of Social Science (Mumbai), the Tata Memorial
Hospital [for Cancer] (Mumbai), the Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research (Mumbai), National Centre for Performing Arts
(Mumbai), the Tata Energy Research Institute and the National
Institute of Advanced Studies (Bengaluru) and various educational
scholarships were of direct benefit mainly to the urban centric elite
and middle classes. By and large, the population of rural areas
remained outside the purview of the Tata Trusts.

Since in the ultimate analysis, the profits of the operating Tata
House, which are the principle source of income for the Trusts, had

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 47

a substantial rural contribution as well, it was felt that a part of the
revenues of the Trusts should be utilized specifically for the
improvement of the villages, with a view to rectifying to some
extent, the prevailing urban bias. After independence, as a
continuation of the larger effort, one of the Trusts, namely Sir
Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT took the first bold step to promote rural
development and improve living conditions in the villages.

Early in 1951, at the instance of Dr. John Mathai, the Trustees
of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust decided to concentrate its effort on all-
rounded development of some selected villages in a remote and
difficult area, as a pioneering experiment by the Trust. An
independent body, the Rural Welfare Board (RWB), was constituted
for the purpose.

The late Prof D. R. Gadgil, the then Director of the Gokhale
Institute of Politics and Economics, Pune and who had an elaborate
personal knowledge of rural Maharashtra, was requested to
recommend a suitable area. In January 1952, on the advice of a
team of experts from the Deccan Agricultural Association, Pune,
Dr. Gadgil recommended a group of villages in the drought-prone
Maan Taluka of Satara District. The Rayat Shikshan Sanstha,
Satara, founded by the Late Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil, had
established a network of schools, hostels and colleges in the Satara
District. He readily extended full co-operation and assistance to the
Trust in the execution of the Project which, in due course of time,
came to be known as the DEVAPUR PROJECT, Devapur being one
of the nine Project villages.

In may not be out of place to mention at this stage an otherwise
well known fact that the Tata House has been a pioneer in
establishing some of the basic industries in India like Steel, Power,
Automobile, Textile, Chemical, Hotel etc., apart from also in the
field of promoting scientific education and research, medicine &
health. Social Work, Art and Culture. However, very few people in
the country know that, in the industrial sector in India, the TATAs
have been pioneers in the field of Rural Development too. Of late.

48 Suresh Suratwala

some of the industrial houses and business groups have become
engaged in welfare activities for their labour force within their
factories and /or in the surrounding vicinity, as part of their
community development programme. But, generally speaking, most
of these programmes are extension of their labour welfare
activities, in order to keep the workers satisfied and also to
maintain ‘cordial’ industrial relations.

However, it goes to the credit of the House of TATAs, who
pioneered a comprehensive and integrated Rural Development
Project, namely, the Devapur Project, as an unique experiment, in a
remote and drought- prone area like the Maan Taluka of Satara
District in Maharashtra, where it had no industrial or business
interest at all. The Project was executed without much publicity, as
a genuine ‘Social Responsibility’ for a period of 35 years, only for
the socio-economic development of the drought-prone area, from
the early 1950s onwards. In those times, hardly any industrial house
thought or talked of ‘Social Responsibility’ which today has
become a popular catch word in the industrial sector. For the
TATAs, ‘ Social Responsibility’ came naturally from within and not
as part of some publicity or strategy, the only testimony for which is
the fact that right from the beginning till today, the TATAs have no
signboard in Maan Taluka for their Project. Yet, each and every
villager of the entire area knows about the ‘Tata Villages’ with
respect and affection.

The TATAs had also realized that rural development, apart
from being an entirely new field of activity for them, is also a
complex exercise - interwoven with vexed social, economic,
cultural and political issues, requiring specialized approaches and
diverse remedies. It was also visualized that the rural work would
involve large funds in the forms of loans and deposits, apart from
grants. A decision was taken that it would be more appropriate to
constitute a Rural Welfare Board under the leadership of a young
team of specialists in various aspects of development for planning,
execution and handling programmes. Accordingly, an independent.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 49

duly empowered ‘Rural Welfare Board’ (RWB) was constituted in
1953.

Guiding Principles of the Rural Welfare Board

As in other fields, the Tata House showed its wisdom in the
new field of rural development too by following certain cardinal
principles at the very outset in order to establish its bonafides, a
clean image and social concern. First and foremost, the RWB
resolved that it shall not, under any circumstances whatsoever, own
any landed property or buildings in the area. Instead, it shall carry
out all its activities on the lands commonly owned by the people.
Even for housing its staff and for constructing buildings for
common welfare facilities like school, dispensary or community
centre, the required land was obtained either as gift or on lease in
the name of village institutions like Panchayats, Co-operatives or
Schools. Experiments and demonstrations in agriculture and allied
activities were carried out on the farmers’ lands or on the lands of
the Co-operatives or schools and hostels.

Secondly, the Board also decided that the financial assisfance
fo the individual villages which it might have to extend should be
and will be through either the co-operatives or villagers' own
institutions. Indeed, it did not enter into any financial dealings with
individual villagers directly. This did not come in the way of it
helping deserving individuals to obtain financial help from other
sources like the Government, Banks, Zilla Parishads or Panchayat
Samitis.

Thirdly, it was decided right from the inception that the Board will
not establish itself as an institution in the area on a permanent basis
or for an indefinite period of time since this could or may create a
vested interest in the area of its operation. Hence, the Board decided
that it would rather work on the Project with active participation of
the local people and in due course of time, within a time-frame,
after achieving certain major goals and bringing the local people to
a certain minimum level of economic well-being, it shall voluntarily
withdraw from the area on its own, handing over the future

50 Suresh Suratwala

management to the local people and their own institutions or bodies
designated by them. The rural development work, which was started
in early 1950s in a group of nine villages in Maan Taluka, thus
came to an end in December 1990. And there was no remorse at all
on either side. Of course, the local people wanted the RWB to
continue its work.

One of the salient features, of Tata's Rural Development
Project in Maan Taluka, was its scientific and systematic approach.
In the early 1950s, when it initiated work, a Benchmark Survey of
all the engaged villages with detailed data about the area and the
people was systematically carried out by the Gokhale Institute of
Politics and Economics, Pune, at the instance of Dr. D. R. Gadgil
and under the guidance and leadership of Dr. V. M. Dandekar, by
an experienced rural worker and teacher in economics, Shri V. D.
Deshpande. Similarly, before it decided to wind up its work, a
comprehensive evaluation study was conducted by Mr. Y. S. Pandit,
Head of the Department of Statistics of the Tata Industries Ltd,
Mumbai, in order to assess the relative change since the Project’s
inception. The study also looked into the Project’s successes,
failures and misjudgements, so that an objective introspection could
be undertaken for the guidance of those who are still in the field as
well as those who were contemplating to enter into rural work.

This entire exercise of rural development by the RWB in the
drought-prone area undoubtedly proved to be a great learning
process for all concerned, particularly the SDTT and its rural
workers who worked with dedication and commitment for a period
of 35 years. To be sure, there were several failures and a large
number of successes. However, both the successes and the failures
helped the rural workers not only to comprehend the problems of
the rural people but also to analyse the social, economic and
political dynamics of the rural society. Significantly, the experience
unfolded how the grass-roots level realities are remarkably different
from what is normally taught in the universities and institutes or
written by professionals and ‘experts’. In addition, the experiment

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 51

enabled the rural workers to grasp and realize the constraints of the
social structures and the prevailing socio-economic system along
with the social, economic, cultural and political hurdles which a
Voluntary Organization has to engage with while working within
the given framework of the rural society and national policies. We
also learnt about the vital role played by the ethical value system
and how it undergoes changes and how these changes are ignored
by the ruling classes at the cost of the emergent future society.

52 Suresh Suratwala

GROUND REALITIES OF THE AREA OF
DEVAPUR PROJECT

T he Devapur Project area, comprising nine villages selected by
the RWB of SDTT, is located in the Maan Taluka of Satara
District in the western state of Maharashtra (See Map, just
preceding the Preface).

2.1 Famine Tract

The Project area lies in the famine tract of chronically draught-
prone area stretching across the eastern part of Maharashtra from
Dhule District to Sangli District, generally known as the Deccan
Plateau, a high level-table land, from north to south. Therefore, it
comes within the rain shadow region which means that it does not
receive the south-west monsoon rains during the month of June,
July and August but generally gets quite a heavy shower from the
north-east monsoon, with heavy winds, popularly known as the
Return Monsoon or the Madras Rains, during the month of
September or October which is also uncertain and irregular. It is,
therefore, an extremely difficult area with poor natural resources
and socio-economic conditions. The living conditions are precarious
enough to render the struggle for even bare survival hard enough.
The following extract from the British Government Gazetteer aptly
sums up the physical environment:

“At the best of times, Maan is barren and desolate, sparsely
weeded even near the river (the only one river called Maan) .

. . The ordinary sources of water supply are wretchedly
precarious, even for drinking . . . The rains consist chiefly of

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 53

periodical thunder storms with intervals of incessant wind
and dust tampered with occasional drizzle . . . The fall is
very uncertain and partial except during monsoon floods, the
beds of the Maan and its feeders are dry. The area of black
soil is small owing to the scanty rain and for want of water¬
works, whatever black soil there is yields little. The rest of
soil is murum, yielding Bajri, which is easily spoilt by
uncertain rains . . . Maan is subject to constant droughts."

- Gazetteer of The Bombay Presidency, Vol. XIX, Satara, 1885,

pp. 434-436

Hence, it must be noted that the agricultural crop of Maan
Taluka is not the Kharif crop but the Rabi crop taken during winter,
after the September/October rains, and that, too, coarse grain which
is generally either Bajri, Jawar or Maize, for both human and animal
survival alike. Maan Taluka has only one river viz., Maan which is
dry during most of the months in a year, except from September to
December unless there is any precipitation with heavy flooding
from the north-east monsoons.

In spite of all these constraints and drawbacks, which clearly
indicated that the task of development would be tough and the
response from the nature and the people would be slower than if a
more favourable area were chosen, RWB-SDTT deliberately
decided to start its first Rural Development Project in the Devapur
area of Maan Taluka. It was felt that this barren and famine-stricken
tract was not likely to attract the attention of the Government or any
other agency for a long time to come. Therefore, if the Trust
succeeded in its efforts even marginally to improve the conditions
of living in the selected villages, it would have an immense
demonstrative value for the entire famine belt.

All the nine villages namely, Devapur, Gangoti, Hingni,
Jambhulni, Palasvade, Panwan, Pulkoti, Shirtav and Valai, included
in the Project, form a natural watershed region of the two Nalas
(natural drains or rivulets) namely, Torla and Chunkhad. These
Nalas are the tributaries of the river Maan which ultimately flows

54 Suresh Suratwala

into the Rajewadi Tank. The three villages - Devapur, Palasvade
and Hingni - are located on the Banks of Rajewadi Tank. The tank
was constructed towards the close of the 19th century to harness the
water of river Maan for irrigation of some villages in Sholapur
District during a particularly severe famine, mainly to provide work
to the people on ‘KHAVATF basis. In 1952, all these nine villages
were more or less isolated from one another, as well as from the
nearest town of Mhaswad, on the Satara-Pandharpur road.
Mhaswad, with the then population of about 10,000 was the nearest
weekly market place for the nine villages. Yet it was linked to only
some of the villages by a cart track road, usable only during the dry
season. Bullock cart was the only means of transport and
communication for the people of the area.

2.2 Quality of Soil

According to the Land Records of the Government, the total
area of the nine villages covered by the Project is about 35,000
acres. In 1955, the Rational Planning Corporation Ltd., Mumbai
carried out a soil survey of the area, with a view to assessing the
quality of the soil and ascertaining the land use pattern. After a
thorough check-up of the Land Records of the Government and by
means of a series of spot surveys, the soil pattern as it emerged, in
terms of the traditional ‘anna’ valuation, was as follows: (See Table
2.1).

Table 2.1

Classification of the Area: Anna Valnation (Annewari)

Anna-Valuation

Area
(in acres)

Land

(%)

Remark

Rs. 1

599

1.7

Cultivable

Annas 10 to Rs. 1

522

1.5

Cultivable

Annas 5 to Annas 10

2,377

6.8

Cultivable

Annas 2 to Annas 5

18,967

54.7

Grazing

Below Annas 2

12,256

35.3

Useless

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 55

This is a relative picture of “the course, hungry and reddish
soil” in the area, which on an average, forms a cover of just 4“ to 6”
of top soil. Roughly, when the Project started its work, only the first
three categories of land, constituting about 10% of the total area
was useful for cultivation. The fourth category is fit only for
grazing, during the rainy season. The last category is rocky or
murum which is practically useless and not fit for anything to grow.
Thus almost 90 percent land of the total area was not cultivable.

2.3 Rainfall

The rainfall in the entire Taluka of Maan is scanty and erratic,
and the Project villages are no exception, with little and precarious
precipitation between September and October every year. Between
1955 and 1984, the rain gauge at Devapur recorded a variation
between 7.63" in 1972 to 31.33" in 1960 (See Table 2.2). The
distribution of rainfall over a time is also wayward and in the
peculiar topography of the area, even small quantity of concentrated
rainfall leads to floods damaging wells, bunds and crops. The
frequent occurrence of floods is the direct result of non-percolation
of the water because of the rocky (Black Basalt) soil. The scanty
and erratic rainfall easily flows unhindered through the nallas,
resulting in poor water supply in the nine villages, both for drinking
purpose as well as for irrigation which is hardly 6% of cultivable
area. The summer months are quite difficult for all human beings as
well as the animals.

The underground water also does not get re-charged every year
because of the failure of rain almost every one or two years and lack
of percolation due to hard rock below the top soil. This cruel cycle
of ‘No Trees, No Greenery, No Rains, No Percolation, No Re¬
charge, No fTater’continues almost forever in such drought-prone
areas. And even if it rains, the total average rainfall varies between
10“ to 15” at the most, in an exceptional year.

The real tragedy of Maan Taluka is its high-level table land,
where it is not possible to get water from outside. There are only

56 Suresh Suratwala

two ways. Either the water is lifted from a lower level or an
underground tunnel is constructed to bring water from a long
distance. However both the options, being highly uneconomical,
impractical and unfeasible, could not be adopted. Then, what is the
way out? This is a big question mark to Science and Technology for
such drought-prone areas in the country.

Table 2.2

Variation in Rainfall at Devapnr
Total Yearly Rainfall from 1959 to 1984 (except for 1964-67)

Year

Inches

Year

Inches

1959

18.01

1974

22.24

1960

31.33

1975

23.68

1961

12.16

1976

11.60

1962

23.55

1977

17.63

1963

16.37

1978

11.41

1968

17.33

1979

10.13

1969

13.33

1980

9.34

1970

7.74

1981

16.83

1971

18.93

1982

8.53

1972

7.63

1983

10.86

1973

23.36

1984

14.15

2.4 Population and its Composition

The total area of the nine villages is 64 square miles (about 35,000
acres) and the total population, according to 1951 Census, was
4,875 which computes to the population density of about 76 persons
per square mile, with only 5.7 percent of the total population being
literate. This was a rough index of the means of livelihood available
in the area, when the Project started its work in 1954-55 (See Table
2.3).

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 57

Table 2.3

Population of Devapur Project Villages

Village

Census

Survey Estimates

No.*

1951

1961

1971

1981

59-60

71-72

83-84

490

820

1,171

1,694

666

1,394

1,575

495

664

774

762

646

927

956

628

1,067

1,134

1,726

1,120

1,722

2,012

857

1,125

1,163

1,359

1,138

1,704

2,612

178

312

413

527

385

711

819

691

768

1,103

862

855

2,091

2,193

604

778

863

976

668

1,236

1,506

295

319

412

546

298

474

925

637

542

1,014

688

774

1,791

2,238

Village

4,875

6,395

8,047

9,140

6,550

11,790

14,836

*Numerical Notation for Project Villages - 1. Devapur; 2. Gangoti ; 3. Hingni; 4.
Jambhulni; 5. Palasvade; 6. Panwan; 7. Pulkoti; 8. Shirtav; 9. Valai.

Notes : Census figure represents the number of persons actually present on the
enumeration date. These seem to be inconsistent and unreliable.

The survey estimates relate to the whole year and include the number of seasonal
out-migrants.

Table 2.4

Classification of Population By Age: 1983-84*

Villages
No. **

Age below

15 years

Age 15-16
years

Age above
60 years

Total

Avera¬

family

size

No.

28.6

162

64.3

7.1

252

6.3

35.9

55.6

8.5

153

5.5

108

33.5

184

57.2

9.3

322

6.4

144

34.5

243

58.1

7.4

418

6.0

32.8

58.0

9.2

131

6.5

134

38.2

201

57.3

4.5

351

7.8

29.9

150

62.2

7.9

241

5.2

37.8

56.8

5.4

148

5.9

154

43.3

194

54.2

2.8

358

7.2

All

838

35.3

1379

58.1

157

6.6

2374

6.3

*Based on 16.6% sample.

**Numerical Notation for Project Villages: See Tables 2.3 or 2.5 for the key.

58 Surest! Suratwala

Although thinly populated, the people represented a number of
castes and sub-castes and the pattern differs from village to village
(See Table 2.5). The Lonaris, the lime makers, with about 24
percent, were predominantly in the three villages of Valai, Panwan
& Jambhulni; while Dhangars, the shepherds, with 22 percent were
more to be found in Gangoti, Pulkoti, Shirtav and Palasvade; while
Mamthas with 18 percent were mainly in Devapur, Hingni,
Palasvade and Pulkoti. The Scheduled Castes viz. Mahar, Mang and
Nava Baudhs with about 11 percent were spread over in almost all
the nine villages, while the Nomadic Tribe (Vimukta Jati) Ramoshis
with ten percent were also to be found in all the nine villages
according to the study undertaken in 1959-60.

None of these castes tend to have a dominating position in the
area. The caste distinctions, though existing, do not affect the
harmony of life in these villages, thanks to the educational and
hostel movement started by Late Karamaveer Bhaurao Patil in this
area. While villagers’ factions do prevail in almost all the villages
but are, by and large, based on caste considerations. Generally
speaking, in Western Maharashtra, compared to Mahathawada or
Vidarbha, caste oppression has been less of a problem on account of
the educational and social awareness work carried out by Shahuji
Maharaj of Kolhapur and Karamaveer Bhaurao Patil of Satara and
the Mahatma Phule’s Satya Shodhak movement in this area.

2.5 Migration of the Population

However, it must be noted that under difficult and
unfavourable natural conditions like poor soils and scarcity of
water, the people of Maan Taluka in general and the nine villages in
particular were left with no alternative but to migrate from their
villages, particularly for the sake of the survival of their Khillar
animals and a large sheep population. The outward migration was
either to the Konkan region or to the erstwhile Hyderabad State in
search of fodder and water for their animals and work as labourers,
at least for a period of about 6-8 months in a year, between January
to August. The education of the children greatly suffered due to this

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 59

regular migration of a large number of Dhangar and Lonari
families, despite the fact that Karamaveer Bhaurao Patil had started
primary schools and hostels in several villages. Most of the villages
of the Project had a grossly deserted look for half the year due to
migration.

Table 2.5

Caste-Wise Composition of Families (1959-60)*

(In percentage)

Caste->

Village

No. i

Total

1.0

36.5

17.1

23.3

22.2

100

70.0

2.5

4.2

10.0

13.3

100

7.8

51.9

17.0

8.7

14.6

100

43.0

23.7

2.4

11.6

1.0

18.3

100

1.0

45.6

21.0

12.3

13.6

6.5

100

62.0

1.4

3.5

8.5

13.4

11.2

100

38.1

29.4

6.3

13.5

12.7

100

44.6

12.3

21.5

21.6

100

77.0

2.8

5.6

0.7

13.9

100

1959-60

23.7

22.1

18.1

10.8

10.3

15.0

100

1983-84

26.2

22.2

19.3

9.1

10.4

12.8

100

Alphabetical Notation for Castes: A. Lonari; B. Dhangad (Shepherd);

C. Maratha; D. SCs; E. Ramoshi; F. Others.

** .... ...
Numerical Notation for Project Villages - 1. Devapur; 2. Gangoti ; 3. Hingni; 4.

Jambhulni; 5. Palasvade; 6. Panwan; 7. Pulkoti; 8. Shirtav; 9. Valai.

2.6 Rajewadi Tank

This all earthen tank constructed by the British rulers on the
Maan River proved to be a ray of hope when the Government
started leasing out the silted land known as Galper Lands to the
local people of the three villages of Devapur, Hingni and Palasvade.
Since the soil of the tank-bed was rich in quality and full of
moisture, just the sowing of the seed and harvesting the crop before
the tank gets filled-up was all what was needed. It proved to be a
great boon when Co-op Farming Societies of the three villages were
formed with long lease from the Government. In some exceplional

60 Suresh Suratwala

years, the tank-bed provided huge crop of fodder sufficient enough
for the whole Maan Taluka. In due course of time, the Ramoshi
community also formed a Fishing Co-op Society and harvested
substantial yield of fish from the tank. The RWB-SDTT played a
crucial role in organizing and managing these Farming and Fishing
Co-operatives, thereby providing invaluable means of seasonal
livelihood to the local people.

Briefly, this was the nature and endowment of the area,
basically adverse because of the non-availability of rains as well as
underground water, where the RWB-SDTT launched its first ever
Project for Rural Development. It was well understood, recognized
and realized by all concerned that the task is not going to be easy
one at all, but the resolve with will-power was strong enough to
fight against nature and all odds. This has been the guiding spirit of
the RWB-SDTT and Late Karamaveer Bhaurao Patil. Tentatively, a
timeframe of 10 years was envisaged but surmounting one problem
after another went on extending the period year after year. This was
indeed a tough fight against nature. Ultimately, the hard work by the
people of Maan, with critical support from the RWB-SDTT
succeeded in making the nine villages an 'Oasis in the Deserf!

The following account will disclose that, by sheer hard and
sustained work for about 35 years, the RWB-SDTT were able to
bring about some basic changes in terms of the volume of
agricultural production and change in the cropping pattern, with one
cash crop in pockets of irrigation. This led to an increase in the total
income as well as per capita income of the family. With the
provision of basic infra-structure like water, electricity, roads,
communication, and transport, through a comprehensive and
integrated programme of water conservation, so essential for
sustained development, the progress achieved has been noteworthy.

At this stage, it is necessary to bring out how rural
development work in Maan Taluka villages differs from other rural
areas in the vicinity of big cities and towns. In the latter
circumstance, the basic infrastructure like water, power, roads.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 61

markets and other such facilities are readily available and one has to
just carry out agricultural extension work with various modem
inputs. But in the villages of Maan Taluka, where no basic
infrastructure was available, the RWB-SDTT had to first create this
infrastructure, which itself took more than 20 years out of the total
of 35 years it worked. The RWB-SDTT had to initially make huge
efforts of developing, generating and moulding the natural resources
of the area along with the minds of people, before any benefits
could be realized. This major difference between the mral
development work in a drought-prone region and any other
developed area is widely acknowledged by experts. The same
yardstick to measure mral development cannot be used in two such
different regions.

It, therefore goes to the credit of RWB-SDTT that it could
engage a dedicated and committed small team of specialists, who
not only lived in the villages but also worked with the people under
difficult conditions, without proper housing, sanitation, electricity,
water facilities and moved around on bi-cycles round the clock for
years, without caring for their personal facilities and other amenities
like proper food, water, education and recreation for themselves and
their families. This sacrifice enabled the team to establish a good
rapport with the local people and helped it in winning their goodwill
and support. The villagers soon became the teachers of the field
workers. The reverse process of learning from the wisdom and
experience of the villagers started. It calls for sustained interaction
over prolonged period in order to understand and recognize the
stark realities of the life of the villagers and their problems and
genuine felt-needs. There is no short-cut or the so-called ‘modern’
method for this but to live and work with the people with empathy
and sensitivity. It is only by identifying with them, their families,
their hardships, their problems, their misery, sufferings and
aspirations that one can hope to understand them and win their
confidence. No book or University Degree can give this
experience, insight and wisdom.

62 Suresh Suratwala

RWB APPROACH TO RURAL DEVELOPMENT:
CONTENT & CHARACTER

T he problems of rural India are multiple and massive, calling for
a determined and sustained effort both by the state and the
people to tackle them effectively. Philanthropy by the Tata House
has not lagged behind in this great task. SDTT approaches its work
in a spirit of science with humility. There is consciousness that it
has much to learn and perhaps little to teach. And, therefore, in a
spirit of co-operation, it seeks to learn and share its knowledge and
experiences with those for whom the development of rural India is
an abiding faith.

As stated earlier, SDTT undertook the responsibility of rural
development of Devapur Project in 1952. For proper planning,
implementation, administration, supervision and monitoring the
above project, SDTT constituted a Rural Welfare Board (RWB) in
1953. The RWB, apart from initiating and undertaking a large
number of development and welfare programmes on its own, also
co-operated and collaborated with the Government and the VOs for
joint projects by supplementing financial support, as and when
required. Thus, it also played an important catalytic role as a liaison
agency, to accelerate the process of development.

The Rural Development Programme adopted by the Rural
Welfare Board can be envisaged in two parts, namely:

(i) Economic Development Programmes, and
(ii) Social Welfare Programmes.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 63

These two parts together make it a comprehensive and
integrated rural development programme, for an all round
betterment of the living conditions of people of a selected area.

3.1 Economic Development Programmes

After preliminary investigations and initial survey of the area,
the RWB recognized and identified two major problems of high
priority, namely, (i) extreme scarcity of water, both for drinking
purpose as well as irrigation of dry lands, due to uncertain, irregular
and meagre rainfall in the area; and (ii) poor, coarse and hardy soil
with low fertility due to heavy erosion for decades, if not even
longer. The Project area does not get the normal south-west
monsoon during June, July and August but receives heavy
downpour from the north-east monsoon in September and October.
The area also forms part of the Deccan Plateau with Black Basalt
rock, where the percolation of rain water underground is minimum
and that too, only in some small pockets. The RWB started work to
engage with and resolve these problems on a priority basis.

3.1.1 Conservation of Soil and Water: Watershed Development

Since the RWB did not possess the required technical person
power and administrative machinery, it approached the State
Government for undertaking Contour Bunding work on an
extensive basis in the nine Project villages. But the Government at
that time had no funds for this purpose. Hence, the RWB gave an
interest-free loan of Rs. 2.5 lakh to the Agricultural Department for
undertaking Contour Bunding work in the nine villages. In due
course of time, the Government also made available further funds
and expanded the Contour Bunding work to the whole of Maan
Taluka by establishing a Sub-Division. This programme continued
for the next 10 years and almost the entire ‘bundable’ area in the
nine villages was covered by Contour Bunds. In addition to Contour
Bunding, all other measures like Nalla Bunding, Percolation Tanks
and Contour Trenching were undertaken on a large scale during the
1960s and 1970s, with the co-operation of the Government in order

64 Suresh Suratwala

to conserve each and every drop of rain water. The area covered
under the Watershed Development programme was in the Torla-
Chunkhad Valley right from the mountain range of the village Valai
in the west, the Ridge Point, to the lowest point near Hingni and
Palasvade villages on the banks of Rajewadi Tank. The RWB
arranged the labour wages for the above work with the co-operation
of the Government and other agencies. After the severe drought of
1972 in Maharashtra, RWB was successful in getting help from the
Catholic Relief Service (CRS) and United States Catholic
Conference in kind e.g. Wheat, Bulgur and Soybean Oil, under PL
480, which helped it to implement the ‘Food for Work Programme’.

As a result of the above water conservation work, the
underground water level improved significantly in almost all the
villages. Hence, as a follow-up, a large programme of excavating
new open wells along with deepening and renovation of old and
obsolete wells was undertaken under the 'Food for Work
Programme' of the CRS. Under this follow-up, 500 new wells were
created and 500 old wells in the nine villages were renovated. The
Government, RWB and 'Food for Work Programme' significantly
contributed to the gigantic task of water conservation. By the end of
1980s, no feasible site for percolation tank was left out in the nine
villages. This built up the irrigation potential of the area which in
turn helped the farmers to begin to take at least two agricultural
crops, one of which was a cash crop like cotton, groundnut,
sugarcane, onion and chillies. Thus, the entire cropping pattern of
the nine villages slowly but steadily underwent a remarkable
change, thereby increasing the total production and income of the
farmers by several-fold.

However, the RWB was not satisfied by only conserving water
and improving the underground water table of the area. After much
hard work, it was able to identify two sites for medium-size
Irrigation Tanks on two nallas namely Chunkhad and Torla near the
villages of Pulkoti and Gangoti and it was further successful in
persuading the Irrigation Department to undertake the same with the

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 65

necessary canal system, which increased the total area under
irrigation considerably (See Table 3.1).

Table 3.1

Proportion of Cultivated Land Under Irrigation

Comparative Statement (in pereentages)

No.

Villages

1959-60

1971-72

1983-84

Devapur

5.0

17.6

19.2

Gangoti

4.5

10.6

Hingni

2.5

9.2

10.2

Jambhulni

7.7

18.2

18.7

Palasvade

3.3

12.7

17.1

Panwan

7.2

16.5

19.1

Pulkoti

7.7

14.0

17.9

Shirtav

9.9

20.5

23.9

Valai

6.9

12.6

17.3

All villages

5.6

13.8

16.3

3.1.2 Lift Irrigation Schemes

As a long-term impact of the above large-scale Watershed
Development Programme in the nine villages on an extensive and
intensive basis, the underground water level substantially improved
in the entire area. However, each and every farmer was not able to
build his/her individual open well for irrigation. Hence, on the
initiation and inspiration of RWB small groups of farmers ranging
from 5 to 25 came together to excavate large-size common wells,
install electric pump sets and lay plastic pipe lines for delivery of
water to their fields. Thus mini-lift irrigation schemes were started
in almost all the villages. All these efforts led to a substantial
increase in the total land acreage under irrigation, with at least two
crops. Thanks to the 'Employment Guarantee Scheme' of the
Government and the 'Food for Work Programme' of CRS, it became
possible to implement the scheme successfully. RWB played a vital
role in the liaison work from outside the Government, Voluntary

66 Suresh Suratwala

Organisations and private agencies, with a view to utilizing all their
resources optimally and supplementing them whenever and
wherever necessary. About a hundred such Lift Irrigation Schemes
of small and big groups came into existence and are still in
operation in the nine villages of the Devapur Project, undertaken as
a Joint Venture in co-operation with several agencies. The Bank of
Maharashtra, Mhaswad Branch, also played a significant role in
providing loans for the purchase of pumpsets and pipes, while Food
for Work Programme of CRS helped in providing unskilled work to
the local people, most of whom were the direct beneficiaries of the
excavation of wells and trenches.

Table 3.2

Lift Irrigation Schemes

S. No.

Villages

No. of
Schemes

Devapur

Gangoti

Hingni

Jambhulni

Palasvade

Panwan

Pulkoti

Shirtav

Valai

Total

RWB, directly as well as indirectly, helped in organizing about
100 small and medium size Lift Irrigation Schemes, by providing
several type of inputs required, right from excavation, construction
of wells, installation of pump sets and laying of the pipe lines. Thus,
small and marginal farmers, who would have never got the benefit
of irrigation facility, were able to obtain water for irrigation, take
two crops and increase their production and income, through the
means of Co-operative or Joint Lift Irrigation Schemes. The most

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 67

critical role in this whole process is to bring the small and marginal
farmers together and work on the basis of mutual benefit. This vital
and critical role was played by the field workers of the RWB.
Similar type of Lift Irrigation Schemes were also organized for the
members of the weaker sections belonging to SCs/STs but
unfortunately after initial enthusiasm, most them did not work for
some reason or other.

Table 3.3

Lift Irrigation Co-Operatives for Weaker Sections

Village

No.*i

J**

III

Rs.(m

Lakhs)

Rs.(m

Lakhs)

Rs.(in

Lakhs)

VII

Acres

Dhangars

3.50

1.23

2.27

167

Dalits &
Muslims

8.50

4.49

3.56

250

Dalits

0.73

0.40

0.33

Dalits

1.57

0.21

1.36

172

14.30

6.73

7.52

467

*Numerical Notation for Project Villages - 1. Devapur; 2. Gangoti; 3. Hingni;

4. Jambhulni; 5. Palasvade; 6. Panwan; 7. Pulkoti; 8. Shirtav; 9. Valai.

**Numerical Notation for Column Titles - I. No. of Co-operatives; II. No. of
Beneficiary Families; 111. Beneficiary Communities; IV. Bank Loan; V. Govt.
Subsidy; VI. Net Liability; VII. Total Irrigated Area (in Acres).

On the whole, the contribution of the RWB and several co¬
operating official and privafe agencies in the conservation, proper
utilization and management of the most valuable water resource in
the area during the last so many years has been tremendous. In
short, it has enabled the RWB to totally change the face of the area
by multiple cropping of cash crops, increase in production and
income and improvement of the standard of living. With the
availability of more water, considerable fallow land was brought
under cultivation with the use of tractors. With the use of improved
seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, the yield per acre increased.

68 Suresh Suratwala

3.1.3 Advent of Electricity

The RWB had for long realized the importance of electric
power for its Project villages. In the absence of electricity,
residential lighting depends on kerosene lamp and water pumps
depend on diesel engine. The students find it difficult to study at
night under kerosene lamps. Several medicines and vaccines need
refrigeration which also needs electricity. Therefore, such medicines
and vaccines are not available to villagers. Modem facilities
depending on electric power cannot be extended to the
impoverished village people. This was the condition of the Devapur
Project villages in 1952. There were several constraints in bringing
electricity to the area. In 1972, when RWB approached the
Maharashtra State Electricity Board (MSEB) to extend power to the
nine villages of its Project from the nearby town of Mhasvad, the
Board put forth the issue of scarcity of funds and sought a guarantee
of minimum of 20% of revenue return. The RWB persisted and
offered to give a loan to the MSEB to the tune of Rs. 7 lakhs and
ultimately persuaded the MSEB to extend electric power to the
Project villages, which happened before the end of 1972.

The availability of electric power to all the nine villages, apart
from its domestic use in individual houses and on roads and public
places for lighting, gave a boost to irrigated agriculture with the use
of electric pumpsets on almost all the wells in the area. The ranning
cost of electric pumpset was quite low and, as compared to diesel
engine pumpset, its operation was more efficient and convenient.
The electric power reduced the cost of production of crops under
irrigation. This made it possible to bring increasingly more and
more land under irrigation along with a total change in the cropping
pattern, fetching reasonable income with profit. In pre-power times,
manual chakkies were operated in villages. But after the advent of
electricity, more than one and in some cases two to three flour mills,
started operating in each of the nine villages, giving a great relief to
the women folk. In due course of time, it also brought the telephone
line to one or two villages, a faster means of communication.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 69

3.1.4 Horticulture

Right from its inception, RWB has been encouraging and promoting
Horticulture, by providing quality fruit plants like guava, chikoo,
mango, coconut, pomegranate and others to the farmers at
subsidized rates. Out of all the different varieties of fruit grafts
distributed, it was found that pomegranate, which is a hardy plant
and requires minimum water, has proved to be the most successful
and promising one. The farmers concentrated on the cultivation of
pomegranate on a large scale, particularly in the two villages of
Devapur and Palasvade. More than 100 acres of pomegranate with
drip irrigation is now grown as ready market is also available. It has
proved to be a good income-generating field. Pomegranates are
exported to Dubai and other Gulf countries.

3.1.5 Afforestation

As already mentioned, the villages of the Devapur Project
were in drought-prone region, with meagre and irregular rainfall.
Therefore, no programme like Afforestation/Social Forestry/
Planting of frees was possible. The supply of fodder, fuel and timber
were the major needs of the people, apart from the improvement of
the environment of these villages. The RWB therefore, with the
cooperation of the Department of Social Forestry and the Forest
Department, undertook a huge programme of free plantation in each
of the nine villages. In all, more than 10,000 frees were planted in
small plots of demarcated land in most of the villages and the
survival rate was also good. At Shirtav a forest nursery was
developed for supply of plants to all the nine villages.

3.1.6 Joint Farming Co-operatives

As reported earlier, the Rajewadi Irrigation Tank, constructed by
British rulers on the Maan River on the border of the Satara and
Sholapur Districts, is now more than 100 years old and is filled up
with invaluable silt. The silt could retain moisture for a long time
and also easily grow one crop without irrigation, even after the
water of the tank is released to the villages in Sholapur District.

70 Suresh Suratwala

This fertile soil was earlier auctioned by the Irrigation Department
of the state government The rich traders and businessman used to
take the land on auction and then release it to the local farmers of
the three villages of Devapur, Palasvade and Hingni of the RWB
Project, on a 50% share basis of the rich crop harvest. The local
people were being regularly exploited and therefore Late
Karamaveer Bhaurao Patil, along with RWB’s support approached
the State Government and prevailed upon them to stop this
exploitative practice. The government was persuaded to pass a
General Resolution under which the local farmers of the three
villages formed Joint Farming Co-operative Societies and the tank
bed lands (Galper Zamin) were leased out to the three Co-operative
Societies on a long-term lease for the purpose of cultivation. This
was a great achievement for the local people, particularly because
the farmers of these three villages had lost their own land in the
submergence area of the tank. This rich silt land gave the farmers at
least one good crop as and when the water was released for
irrigation and the lands became available for cultivation. Presently,
the local villagers have dug up several irrigation wells within the
tank-bed and are getting good crops. The government has also
allowed the farmers to remove the silt from the tank and put it in
their eroded lands at the higher level where the younger farmers
have now taken up cultivation of pomegranate on about 100 acres as
a dry-land horticultural crop for which there is a good market not
only in Mumbai but also an export market in Gulf countries. In
short, the process of income generation and improvement in the
standard of living in these villages had taken place, as against the
earlier exploitation by local traders. This indeed is a far reaching
change for the people due to the efforts of RWB. To fight the local
vested interest in itself is a noteworthy achievement which cannot
be and must not be measured in terms of only monetary yardstick.

3.1.7 Fishing Co-operative for Ramoshis

A new activity in the form of fishing in the Rajewadi Tank was
taken up by the Ramoshi Community of Devapur by forming a

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 71

Fishing Co-operative, thereby preventing the private leasing rights
of fishing being given to the outsiders, as was also achieved in the
case of Joint Farming Co-operatives. New methods were employed
with the introduction of Nylon Nets with Government subsidy.
Arrangements were made each year through the Department of
Fisheries to release the improved variety of fishlings in the Tank
which increased the total catch of the members of the Co-operative.
Efforts were made to introduce boats but it did not work due to high
cost. Ultimately, the practice of using 'truck tyres' continued for
going into deep waters for fishing. The traders-buyers would come
to Devapur from distant places like Satara, Sholapur, Sangli and
Kolhapur and buy the catch through cash payment on the spot.
Thus, a valuable income generating activity became sustainable in
Devapur due to the efforts of RWB. It will be pertinent to note that
the entire benefit of the fishing activity went to the Ramoshi
Community who have been classified as backward criminal Tribe
since the British days.

3.1.8 Target-Oriented Programmes for Weaker Sections

All along, RWB made special efforts to involve the weaker
sections in the mainstream of the village life. It gave high priority to
the weaker sections with a view to enable them to improve their
socio-economic conditions. Apart from the two Housing Co¬
operatives at Devapur and Pulkoti specilically for them, the
members of the weaker sections, particularly Mahars and Ramoshis
were encouraged to undertake Sheep Rearing, Goat keeping and
Fishing. RWB made arrangements with the Bank of Maharashtra to
provide them with loans on a concessional annual interest rate of
4.5% along with partial subsidy from RWB itself. More than 75
such families took the benefit of such programmes and also repaid
the loans. In all, aboul 125 new Sheep Unite al a lolal cosi of Rs. 4
lakhs were esiablished by these families in due course of time.

A few amongst the Ramoshi and Mahar communities also
owned some land but were not cultivating them because of the non¬
availability of other inputs like bullocks, water and seeds. For them.

72 Suresh Suratwala

RWB went out of its way and made special arrangements to bring
them together and form Group Lift Irrigation Schemes with
financial assistance from Banks, Social Welfare Department and
RWB itself. In all, 7 major Lift Irrigation Schemes in four different
villages namely 3 schemes in Gangoti, 2 in Hingni, 1 in Panwan and
1 in Pulkoti were designed, completed and made operational at a
total investment of about 14 lakhs from all available sources, with a
capacity to irrigate about 470 acres of land and benefiting 167
families.

It was our expectation that by providing the above support of
productive economic assets may lead them to become self-reliant
and improve their standard of living. However, this did not happen.
It is our experience that partly due to several social and economic
constraints on them, partly because of the lack of the holding
capacity till agriculture crops are harvested, but mainly because of
their sheer un-willingness to work hard on the basis of co-operation,
it is rather difficult to improve their lot despite the support from
such specially targeted programmes. Ironically, they incrementally
became more idle and reluctant to work hard. Hence, despite all
such assets being made available, such programmes have not
become sustainable.

3.1.9 Cattle Breeding

Right from its inception, RWB recognized and accepted the
classification by experts of Maan Taluka and for that matter most of
the drought-prone areas of Deccan Plateau in Maharashtra,
Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, as primarily a LIVESTOCK
ECONOMY and not an economy based on farming. The breeding
and production of hardy and stone breeds of cattle namely
KHILLAR sheep and goats of the deshi breeds has been
traditionally a popular source of livelihood in these regions. This is
chiefly due to scanty rainfall rendering the soils suitable for
growing only grasses for grazing and survival of cattle.

RWB from the very outset also encouraged breeding and
maintenance of selected good quality Khillar Stud Premium Bulls.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 73

These are locally known as MHASWAD KHILLAR for its
propagation and promotion as a Work Animal because it could
survive under the limited supply of fodder from grassland and
scanty water easily on rocky soils of areas like Maan Taluka. RWB
started providing Stud Premium Bulls to a selected one or two
farmers in each of the nine villages for giving breeding service at a
nominal charge to the cows of the other farmers. This programme
did have a limited success. RWB wanted to go further by providing
a dual purpose animal which could be used for farming operations
and, at the same time, while retaining the hardy qualities, could also
give some milk for the family and as source of at least limited
income. It was un-economic to maintain cows and bulls for farming
operations and buffaloes for milk.

Hence, a Dairy Expert was appointed by RWB for cross¬
breeding of the Khillar Cows, not with any of the delicate foreign
breeds like Jersy or Holstein-Friesian (HF), but with an improved
Indian Hardy Breed like Tharparkar, popular in Rajasthan and
Haryana. In 1959, a Cattle Breeding Centre (CBC) was established
at Hingni (Dhokmod) for systematic work to evolve a dual purpose
breed by crossing Khillar with Tharparkar. Encouraging results
were observed soon. With proper feeding and good management,
the cross-bred cows gave on an average daily yield of about 5-7
litres of milk, the maximum being up to 10 litres. This was a joint
project of the existing three Co-operative Farming Societies at
Devapur, Palasvade and Hingni, who made available 50 acres each
of their Tank-Bed lands in Rajewadi Tank. The major part of the
finance came from RWB. In I960, the CBC became operational
with a herd of 30 animals. The CBC was expected to become self-
sufficient financially within 5 years. However, on account of heavy
cost of building shed and purchase of animals and substantial
recurring expenses on staff, purchase of fodder and other
contingencies, the centre could not reach a break-even point. At the
same time, the farmers did not show genuine interest in a dual
purpose animal because of their traditional attachment to the Khillar

74 Suresh Suratwala

cattle. There were some difficulties in marketing the milk of the
cross-bred cows as well. The centre, therefore, went into loss and
ultimately had to be closed. Yet, demonstrating the value of a dual
purpose animal through research on Khillar and Tharparkar was
acclaimed all over the country.

3.1.10 Cattle Breeding Centre

Earlier we have stated how RWB started a CBC under the
guidance and supervision of a Dairy expert to make Khillar breed a
dual purpose animal suitable both for work purpose and providing
some milk, by crossing it with an indigenous Indian improved breed
viz., Tharparkar. The CBC successfully demonstrated this objective
in a large measure by the end of 1984.

However, this research and experiment could not reach the
farmers. Whether the farmers failed to appreciate the advantage of
the good work done by CBC is a moot issue. The milk production in
Devapur, Hingni, and Palasvade definitely increased and marketing
of milk to the Government milk scheme was also arranged. But
even this unfortunately did not last long. Between 1980-81 and
1983-84, nearly 100 Khillar X Tharparkar cows were given to the
farmers, with 80% loan from State Bank of India and remaining
20% as granl-subsidy from RWB. Nevertheless, the logistic
problems of collecting milk and marketing still remained a hurdle.
In spile of this, the Dairy Farming experience continued to hold its
promise as an income generating activity. Despite the initial set¬
back to cattle breeding and dairy farming by RWB, the young
farmers' groups have taken the initiative. Two educated young
farmers, after undergoing training in Artificial Insemination and
Animal Husbandry Management in a 6-month course at Bharatiya
Agro-Industries Foundation (BAIF), Urulikanchan (near Pune),
started an Artificial Insemination Cenire at Devapur. The response
of the farmers of the surrounding villages was very good. The idea
behind this activity was to provide cross-bred good quality animals
to the farmers at an economical price instead of buying a costly
cross-bred animal at the price of about Rs. 25000/-. Artificial

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 75

Insemination will provide the same type of animal at a price of only
Rs. 50/- i,e. the cost of Artificial Insemination. This initiative
appeared to be quite a promising one, similar to the cultivation of
pomegranate in horticulture.

3.1.11 Sisal / Agave Fibre Centre

It is well known that Sisal or Agave plants are most suitable
for famine and drought-prone regions of not only in India but all
over the world, particularly the African countries because of their
extreme hardiness and capacity to survive without water or even
moisture. In our country, particularly in Maharashtra a Scheduled
Caste community known as Mang/Matang samaj have been
extracting fibre from the leaves of Sisal/Agave plants growing
wildly as well as planted on bunds and uncultivable lands for
making ropes required by the farmers for agricultural use, on a
traditionally barter system. Under the barter system, the
Mang/Matang families provide ropes required by the farmers in
exchange of food-grains on a half-yearly crop basis. The traditional
method of extracting fibre was by decomposing the leaves in village
stream after removing the thorns on the leaves. The extraction
process used by them was slow requiring 3 to 4 weeks. The fibre
thus extracted was dull in appearance, neither white nor bright.

RWB supported this activity by establishing a Sisal/Agave
Fibre Centre which encouraged plantation of Sisal/Agave on
contour bunds to provide the village people the raw material for
rope making. In due course, RWB had planted Sisal/Agave
succulent plants in lakhs on the bunds of area. In order to promote
the extraction of fibre on a scientific basis wifh the help of
‘Decorticator Machine’ and produce good quality fibre for making
fancy items like bags and purses, besides ropes, RWB took an
initiative to start a small Fibre Processing Unit at the village
Shirtav, with the help of Khadi & Village Industries Board, on a co¬
operative basis with Mang/Matang families as its members. The
Centre worked for a couple of years and provided employment to
about 20-30 Mang families. However, the demand for Sisal ropes

76 Suresh Suratwala

could not be sustained in the market due to severe competition from
mechanized rope factories and the newly developed nylon ropes.
Hence, marketing of Sisal/Agave ropes became a huge problem and
RBW had to ultimately close the Centre.

3.1.12 Establishment of Co-op Cotton Ginning Factory

It is interesting to note how in the development process an
action leads to not just another reaction but a chain of reactions.
When one problem is solved, new problems may arise. The cotton
growing programme of nine villages is a good example in this
regard. The water conservation programme of RWB made sufficient
water available for irrigation. This led to change in the cropping
pattern as the farmers started adopting cultivation of cash crops like
cotton. This, too, due to proper irrigation, resulted in large scale
production of cotton. The surplus production led to the consequent
problem of proper marketing while ensuring reasonable
remunerative price. In order to overcome this problem, the cotton
growers of the nine villages got together to establish a cotton
Ginning Factory on a co-operative basis.

In 1971-72, the proportion of cotton in the total value of
agricultural production, which itself had recorded a large increase
during the preceding 13 years, was 15.7% as compared to only
5.6% in 1959-60. Thanks to water conservation and its utilization
for cotton, there was a surplus of cotton production. The people of
Devapur Project were facing marketing problem for the last few
years, as they had to go long distance to places like Phaltan and wait
for days together for weighing, selling and procuring good price.
Transport and handling charges involved a sharp cut in the net price
they received. Thus, the increased cotton production led to hitherto
unknown new problems, including the prolonged absence of the
farmers from their families and villages.

In order lo overcome the aforesaid difficulties and to enable
the cotton growers to market their cotton locally at remunerative
price, the RWB sponsored an ambitious scheme for establishment
of a Ginning Factory at Devapur on a co-operative basis. It

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 77

suggested that the required share capital be raised from all the nine
villages of the Project. There was already a Co-operative Ginning
Unit at Gondavale in Maan Taluka and, therefore, it was a difficult
task to get a second unit registered at Devapur. However, the
enthusiasm of the people was so overwhelming that within about 10
days’ time, they managed to raise the share capital of Rs. 1.20 lakh
(Rs. 1,20,000/-). After vigorous and persistent effort by all
concerned and having complied with all the documentary and legal
requirements of the Government, the ‘Karmaveer Bhaurao Patil
Cotton Sale, Ginning & Pressing Co-operative Society’ with a
membership of 500 cotton growers of the nine villages and a share
capital of Rs. 1.20 lakh was duly registered on 1st May 1979. With
the introduction of the Monopoly Cotton Procurement Scheme by
the Maharashtra Government in 1978, a Cotton Purchase and
Collection Centre was also opened at Devapur, ensuring adequate
supply of cotton for ginning from the surrounding villages, within a
radius of 30 miles from the factory. Two brothers of the Village
Devapur donated to the aforesaid Society a plot of 5 acres of open
fiat land along the side of the main road leading to Devapur. The
Government of Maharashtra, as per its scheme of matching share
capital, contributed an equal amount of Rs. 1.20 lakh to the Society
by the end of June 1983. The Society also managed to secure a loan
of Rs. 3.5 lakh from the Bank of Maharashtra for construction and
purchase of ginning machine and other equipment. RWB, too,
contributed to the Society a sum of Rs. 2 lakh, free of interest as
Working Capital.

With the assistance of the local population in the form of
voluntary labour and supply of stones required for the construction
of the Ginning Factory building, the tireless hectic efforts of the
RWB Field Workers and active co-operation and guidance from the
then Hon’ble Minister for Co-operation, Shri N. D. Patil, the
construction work of the building, erection and commissioning of
twenty ginning machines was completed within a record period of 4
months by working round the clock, with amazing speed and

78 Suresh Suratwala

vigour. As a result, the Devapur Ginning Factory started functioning
on 8th September 1979, giving the production of ginned raw cotton
of high quality for export purpose. On the whole, the establishment
of the Ginning Factory on a Co-operative basis at Devapur, was a
feather in RWB’s cap and proved to be a great boon to the farmers
of the surrounding 30-50 villages. Apart from fetching them an
attractive remunerative price for their cotton at their door steps, as a
result of saving the transport, handling and contingent expenses, the
operation of the Ginning Factory provided seasonal employment to
about 150 labourers, both men and women, from 4-5 surrounding
villages. The factory worked in three shifts round the clock and
made net profit right from the first year, as can be seen from Table
3.4.

Table 3.4

Cotton Ginned and Profit Earned

Year

Quantity of

Net Proflt/Loss

(Ending June)

Raw Cotton
Ginned
(in quintals)

after provision of
depreciation and interest

1979-80

11,767.00

Rs. 1,080.00

1980-81

15,800.00

Rs. 17,715.00

1981-82

20,100.00

Rs. 21,680.00

1982-83

12,750.00

Rs. 12,970.00

1983-84

1,075.00

Rs. 5,975.00

As a result of such a superb performance in the initial period of
three years, the entire loan of Rs.3.5 lakh from the Bank of
Maharashtra was fully repaid along with interest and a major part of
the interest-free deposit from RWB was also repaid, leaving a
balance of only Rs. 40,000/- to be returned!

Unfortunately, however, just when the Factory was about to be
stabilized on a profitable basis, the cotton crop in the surrounding
villages was severely affected by pest attack over a wide area and

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 79

the yield per acre fell down drastically. In relation to the cost of
cultivation, the procurement price offered by the Government was
not sufficiently remunerative, particularly in Western Maharashtra.
In contrast, the prevailing price offered in the adjoining State of
Karnataka, where the cotton trade was open and free, the prices
were much higher. Consequently, a large part of the raw cotton,
whose production had already fallen down to a low level due to pest
attack, was smuggled out. The Monopoly Procurement of Cotton
Scheme of the Maharashtra Government received a great set back.
In 1983-84 seasons, the quantity of raw cotton brought to the
Devapur Ginning Factory was hardly 1000 quintals. The operation
of the factory had to be suspended in 1983. The deteriorated
situation affecting the cotton crop remained unchanged in the
successive years. The first agro-based industrial experiment in the
area and a major endeavour by RWB received a painful sefback. A
number of ofher ginning factories in the whole of Western
Maharashtra, more or less, met the same fate and had to be closed
down. The State Government has not been still able to revive the
whole process and even today a large quantity of capital asset is
either lying idle or has been liquidated. Here is truly a tragic story
of the state of affairs of agricultural development, pricing policy and
total lack of planning resulting in heavy debt for the farmers and
consequent misery and suffering! Let anybody, either in the
Government or in the VO/ NGO sector think twice before talking
about processing of agricultural crops, leave alone taking any steps
in this direction without an assured and guaranteed price and policy
support from the Government on a long-term basis. The lessons
learnt are most painful. May wisdom prevail in the Government
before playing with the lives of the farmers! The hard working
farmers with a fighting spirit, struggling for survival in a drought-
prone area, were victimized not only by the nature in the form of no
rain or pest attack on the crops in subsequent years, but also by the
apathetic and irrational government policies.

80 Suresh Suratwala

3.1.13 Marketing and Supply Service: RWB’s Vital Role

Before 1978, when the Monopoly Procurement of Cotton
Scheme was not in force, the farmers were allowed to sell their
cotton in open market at centers like Phaltan, Baramati, Pandhrpur,
Akluj and Mhaswad. But the traders and middle men did not give
the farmers a remunerative price. Besides, the transport and
handling charges made a further sharp cut in the net price they
finally received in hand.

The RWB through its good-offices with Cotton Traders in
Mumbai, made arrangements for direct purchase of cotton from the
villages itself A Mumbai trader would visit all the nine villages
and, after assessing the quality of cotton, would decide the price and
make an offer which was invariably higher and favourable to
farmers. The Mumbai trader used to weigh the cotton in the
presence of the farmers and make the payment in cash on the spot.
This arrangement by RWB continued for a couple of years till 1978
when the State Government re-introduced the Monopoly
Procurement of Cotton Scheme.

Incidentally, it may be mentioned that RWB also made similar
arrangements for the groundnut crop with the co-operation of a
local oil mill in Satara, the District Headquarter. The mill owner
used to come to the RWB villages and purchase the groundnut on
the spot after weighing it in the farmer’s presence and making cash
payment on the spot. This arrangement in cotton and groundnut
purchase was beneficial to both the parties - the farmers received
better price of their product with clean transaction while the
frader/mill owner got the crop a bit cheaper. Thus, RWB played a
crucial role in arranging the marketing of the farmers’ crop at a
higher price.

On the other hand, the RWB through its contacts with the
manufacturers, successfully arranged the supply of irrigation
equipment like the electric motor and diesel engine pumpsets along
with their accessories; plastic pipes; and agricultural inputs like

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 81

improved seed, fertilizer and pesticides to the farmers directly from
the factory at discounted price, at cheaper rate than the open market.
In return, the manufacturers got the bulk orders, making it possible
for them to offer free transport for truck load of material, delivering
it at the doorstep of the farmers in the village itself.

The marketing and supply service arranged by the RWB was
extremely appreciated by the farmers and it did not involve any
additional finance either. Bringing two interested parties at one
table and through subtle negotiations, a vital service was made
available by the RWB, without any formal organized structure and
funds. Clearly, the local traders and merchants were not happy and
tried to create obstacles. However, the unity of the farmers of the
nine villages was so formidable that the vested interest could not
make any dent, in spite of using all the standard tricks of the trade.

At this stage, it must be mentioned that marketing of all types
of farmers’ produce and supply of quality farm inputs at reasonable
prices to the farmers, is supposed to be primarily the responsibility
of various types of Co-operative organizations. However, these Co¬
operatives have not performed this vital function, thereby failing to
provide both the marketing and input services to the farmers. Based
upon our experience, we contend that it calls for building effective
co-ordination and linkages at various levels, rather than huge funds.
On a small scale, the RWB has successfully demonstrated that it is
indeed possible to help the farmers in marketing their produce and
organising supply of various types of inputs for them at reasonable
prices by establishing linkages with the manufacturers directly and
eliminating the middlemen at all levels. What we are lacking is
sincere and honest organizational effort in involving appropriate
structures to operate and perform their expected functions with
commitment, on a sustainable basis. A lot of unnecessary wasteful
expenditure on both the farmers’ demand and supply could be easily
avoided and the benefit passed on to them in reducing the cost of
production and marketing of their produce.

82 Surest! Suratwala

3.1.14 Other Economic Activities

After meeting some of the basic felt-needs of the people during
the 1960s, the RWB directed its attention to possible livelihood
activities for income generation. Encouraged by the favourable
response it received for the initial programmes and in its eagerness
to bring about quick economic development of the rural people, the
Board made a serious effort to develop agricultural subsidiary
activities.

The people of the nine villages were already rearing poultry
for livelihood on a small scale in their homes but the poultry birds
were of countxy-deshi variety. Therefore, steps were taken to
upgrade the poultry by providing improved variety of birds, namely
White-leghom and Ronday Island breeds, which gave higher egg
production and fetched better market value too. Improved varieties
of Cocks were made available along with other necessary items of
poultry units. Initially, there was a good response among the
farmers but, in the absence of a favourable market, the poultry
farming activity flopped.

Similar efforts were made in the case of sheep-rearing by
providing improved Merino Cross-bred rams, particularly to the
Dhangar (shepherd) communities who traditionally maintained
local deshi breed for their livelihood. The raw black wool from the
deshi breed was sold to the Sangar community who made
Ghongdies (Rough Blankets) in the nearby town of Mhaswad.
However, the improved white wool of the Merino Cross Breed did
not fetch a higher price. It was purchased by the traders at the same
price as the black wool. Thus, the story of poultry was repeated in
the case of sheep as well. The Dhangar community, therefore, soon
lost interest in the Merino breed.

The main reason for the initial failure of these two highly
promising agricultural subsidiary activities, otherwise most
appropriate for the drought-prone region, was over-expectation in
too short a time. RWB lacked realization that both poultry farming
and sheep-rearing are long-term projects, requiring much planning

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 83

and patience on the part of the rural worker as well as the farmer for
developing a favourable market.

3.2 Social Development Programmes

3.2.1 Drinking Water

Acute shortage of drinking water, every year during the
summer months, caused severe hardship for the people in almost
every village. However, as a direct result of extensive contour
bunding work carried out in the area by the RWB there was gradual
improvement in the underground water table which proved to be a
boon to the people. RWB undertook a comprehensive programme
of excavating and constructing a pucca well, in each of the nine
villages, at a suitable site on the banks of the two nallas. By 1962,
such wells ensured adequate drinking water all the year round to all
the villagers, irrespective of class, caste and creed. It is noteworthy
that in this RWB-sponsored project, the villagers contributed
voluntary labour by hauling stones and sand required in
construction work.

3.2.2 Wind Mills

In due course of time, the RWB installed windmills, with a
water storage tank and taps, on each of the nine drinking water
wells to pump out water as an added facility. This was particularly
significant for women who were otherwise required to go long
distances until then to fetch water. The windmill, as an alternative
renewable source of energy, was quite a new and innovative idea in
Maan Taluka. Five of the windmills in the first instance were
imported from Australia, while the remaining four windmills were
provided to RWB by the National Aeronautical Laboratory,
Bangalore.

3.2.3 Health Services: Primary Health Centre at Pulkoti

Since there were no qualified doctors or dispensaries in any of
the nine villages of the Project, the provision of medical facilities
was a felt need. RWB took it up on a priority basis and, by 1959, a
full-fledged Medical Cenfre, wifh all necessary equipmenf was

84 Suresh Suratwala

specially constructed at Pulkoti which was at the centre of the nine
villages. A qualified doctor visited the Medical Centre, Pulkoti once
every week from Mhaswad, the nearby market town, whose services
were available at Mhaswad on the rest of the days as well. The
Centre had a qualified compounder, a Health Visitor and two mid¬
wives, each of whom were in-charge of three villages, visiting them
on alternate days for providing health services. The Medical Centre
also undertook preventive measures against malaria, cholera,
typhoid, and such ailments. On the whole, the Centre made a
significant contribution towards the health and well-being of the
people of the area.

3.2.4 Family Planning

RWB realized the importance of the Family Planning
Programme and strongly believed, promoted and propagated small
family norm right from the inception of its work in the nine villages.
Motivation of the villagers was not an easy task. The intensive
effort by RWB, through a variety of incentives to the families and
with active co-operation of the village leaders, made it possible to
organize its first Family Planning Camp for vasectomy operations in
1959 successfully af village Pulkofi. However, after fhis camp, fhere
was a big gap and no significant progress could be made. RWB
continued its intensive effort with full enthusiasm. In 1967, the
work really got a momentum and a large number of camps were
held in each of the nine villages, regularly every few months. In
addition to the Government incentive in cash, RWB provided some
particularly innovative incentives like free medical care to the entire
family for one year after vasectomy, various types of gifts in kind,
preferential treatment in all other development programmes like
digging of wells or installing of motor pumpsets, awarding a
scholarship for higher studies and others. All these had a great
impact on the success of the Family Planning Programme. The
whole strategy was that all other developmental activities revolved
around active participation in Family Planning. As a consequence of
this focused effort, in 1976-77, the village Devapur received the

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 85

First Prize of Rs. 10,000/- in Satara District for its excellent work in
Family Planning. Similarly, during 1979-80, the village Jambhulni
got the First Prize in the district for its excellent performance in
Family Planning.

Table 3.5

Family Planning Operations Among Eligible Conples
(1983-84)*

Villages

No.**

Total

No. of

Families

Surveyed

344

Couples of
Repro¬
ductive

Age: 15-49
years

418

Couples

Reporting

Operations

200

Operations
Carried out:

Vaseetomv

101

Tubectomv

111

Proportion
of Eligible
Couples
Operated

59.2

38.7

32.6

45.0

60.9

42.2

71.0

59.1

41.5

47.8

*Based on 16.6 % sample.

**Numerical Notation for Project Villages - 1. Devapur; 2. Gangoti; 3. Hingni; 4.
Jambhulni; 5. Palasvade; 6. Panwan; 7. Pulkoti; 8. Shirtav; 9. Valai.

Notes: 1. In twelve families, more than one operation were reported. 2. Operations
reported by widows or couples beyond the reproductive age, at the time of survey,
are excluded from the Table.

The Family Planning work of the RWB got a setback from
time to time because of the contradictory and changing government
policies on Family Planning. In particular, when the Government
shifted its focus from Vasectomy to Tubectomy, all the hard work
and sincere efforts made by the RWB in favour of male sterilization
got a great setback and the momentum gradually gained by RWB

86 Suresh Suratwala

was lost. This is a noteworthy example of how the Government
policies hinder the good work of the VOs which requires to be taken
into consideration at the national level.

3.2.5 Education

(a) Primary Education

At the time when RWB started its Project in the nine villages,
two villages namely, Shirtav and Palasvade had no Primary
Schools. So, the first task of the RWB was to start Primary Schools
in those two villages and, in due course, to hand them over to the
Zilla Parishad. The Primary Schools in the remaining seven villages
had no school buildings of their own and were being held in a
village temple or a chavadi. Therefore, RWB undertook a
programme of constructing school buildings in each of the nine
villages, with the co-operation of the Rayat Shikshan Sanstha and
the District School Board. RWB also made an attempt to improve
the quality of education by (a) providing educational equipment,
scientific apparatus and library books; (b) holding monthly
meetings of the teachers; (c) organizing Games and Sports Meet on
the Republic Day for all the nine villages together; (d) encouraging
excursions and visits; and (e) awarding an Ideal Teacher Prize each
year; and taking other such measures.

Above all, the schools teachers were not receiving monthly
salaries regularly because the Government Grants were released at
the year end and the teachers had to work for several months
without salaries. Therefore, the RWB made an arrangement to make
regular salary payment to the school teachers on the first of every
month and then, at the end of the year, recovered Government
Grants which were invariably less than the total payment made by
RWB to the teachers. RWB had to compensate for the deficit.
Clearly, the problems of Primary Education are not as simple and
easy as these are usually made out to be.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 87

Table 3.6

Children in Age Gronp of 5 to 14 Years
Attending School (1983-84)*

Village

No.**

Total Number of
Children in the
Village

Number of

Children Attending
Sehool

Percentage of
Children Attending
School

Boys

Girls

Total

Boys

Girls

Total

Boys

Girls

Total

96.1

100

98.0

75.0

10.5

43.6

82.1

22.7

45.8

71.7

28.2

54.5

82.3

47.4

63.9

59.6

27.5

46.4

92.8

81.8

88.0

78.3

55.6

68.3

58.9

25.6

45.3

All

Villages

315

266

581

231

107

338

73.3

40.2

58.2

*Based on 16.6 % sample.

**Numerical Notation for Project Villages - 1. Devapur; 2. Gangoti; 3. Hingni; 4.
Jambhulni; 5. Palasvade; 6. Panwan; 7. Pulkoti; 8. Shirtav; 9. Valai.

(b) Secondary and Senior Secondary Education

When RWB started its work, out of nine villages, there was
only one High School at Devapur and, that too, only up to class X.
Consequently, the students from all the other villages had to come
to Devapur after their class VII. RWB steadily started High Schools
in three more villages namely Pulkoti, Jambhulni and Hingni and
helped them with buildings and educational equipment in order to
inspire the teachers and improve the quality of education. After
passing their class X, all the students had to go out of the nine
villages to pursue senior secondary education. This was extremely
difficult and financially not feasible for most of the families. Thus, a
substantial proportion of students discontinued their studies after
High School. RWB, therefore, made a special effort in 1978 and
enabled Devapur High School to start a Junior College with Science

88 Suresh Suratwala

Faculty and Animal Husbandry & Dairy as special subjects, by
obtaining the necessary permission from the highest authority in the
Manfralaya (Secretariat). RWB also helped the Rayat Shikshan
Sanstha to construct additional buildings for the college and the
Hostel from time to time and further helped by providing required
equipment for laboratories and the library.

Table 3.7

Children in Age-Gronp of 5 to 14 Years
Attending School: Comparative Statement

Over the Years (in pereentage)

Villages

1959-60

1971-72

1983-84

Devapur

39.0

71.0

98.0

Gangoti

18.0

43.0

44.0

Hingni

17.0

36.0

46.0

Jambhulni

7.0

36.0

55.0

Palasavade

28.0

41.0

64.0

Panwan

12.0

16.0

46.0

Pulkoti

54.0

71.0

88.0

Shirtav

14.0

40.0

68.0

Valai

3.0

14.0

45.0

All

Villages

19.0

37.0

58.0

Generally, the majority of the students in the rural areas, after
completing class XII, are unable to go for University education on
account of financial constraints. RWB therefore, started a scheme
for awarding scholarships to the deserving students on merit-cum-
means basis for pursuing Higher Education, particularly for degrees
in Agriculture, Veterinary Science, Medicine and Engineering. As
of now, more than 300 such students must have been supported by
RWB, who are today holding respectable posts in the government
departments and private establishments.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 89

Table 3.8

Literacy: Comparative Statement Over the Years
(In Percentage)

Villages

1959-60

1971-72

1983-84

Devapur

26.0

40.0

56.0

Gangoti

12.0

22.0

27.0

Hingni

13.0

18.0

32.0

Jambhulni

10.0

14.0

29.0

Palasvade

17.0

24.0

37.0

Panwan

10.0

15.0

28.0

Pulkoti

25.0

39.0

52.0

Shirtav

11.0

20.0

39.0

Valai

4.0

14.0

21.0

All Villages

13.5

21.3

34.3

(d) Informal Education and Training Programmes

In addition to all the above formal educational activities, RWB
found that some of the bright young talented students were unable
to prove themselves in formal studies but were excellent at field
level in working with their hands. Hence, RWB formed an informal
group of such young farmers from the nine villages and organized
monthly meeting on a rotating basis in each of the villages. These
meetings were not in class rooms or a building but directly in
somebody’s farm where practical problems and difficulties were
discussed among themselves and innovative methods to increase the
yields were demonstrated. Visits to Research Centres of the
Universities in Pune, Sholapur, Rahuri and others were also
organized to expose the young minds to new developments. This
programme was quite popular and the young farmers definitely
gained from experience of ground-level experiments with improved
seeds, methods, fertilizers and pesticides. Visits to Model Farms,
Banks and Zilla Parishad offices transformed their outlook while
also keeping them away from the lumpen elements in the village.
Further, they played a crucial role in the village-level common
community activities.

90 Suresh Suratwala

Even after formal withdrawal from the Project villages, SDTT
continued its relations with the villagers. Since the problem of
school drop-outs started becoming quite serious, SDTT helped the
Rayat Shikshan Sanstha to start a Pilot Project for a period of 3
years for a short-term (six months) Vocational Training Programme
by providing a total grant - capital plus recurring - of Rs. 20 Lakhs.
The courses included practical training in (a) Electric Motor
Winding, (b) Electrician, and (c) Two-Wheeler Repair &
Maintenance, with a view to providing self-employment through
their own enterprises. In addition. Skill Training was provided in (a)
Stall-fed Goat Keeping, (b) Livestock & Dairy Farming and (c) Dry
Land Horticulture, especially in pomegranate cultivation. Today,
Devapur has about 100 acres of Pomegranate Farms.

Although quite late in the day, after the withdrawal of RWB
from the area, the local young farmers have now started seeing
some light in the potentiality of the Cattle Breeding Centre (CBC)
and took initiative to rejuvenate the Dairy Programme implemented
by RWB earlier. Two educated unemployed youth have received
training in Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development at the BAIF
Centre at Urulikanchan (near Pune) and started a programme in
Artificial Insemination, in the hope that milk collection will start
soon and provide some income to the local people.

Computer Training: As part of the senior secondary
examination, the Junior College at Devapur introduced ‘Computer
Literacy’ as a subject for the students of classes XI & XII. SDTT
provided a total grant of Rs. 10 lakhs towards this Computer
Training Programme. A special Computer Laboratory equipped
with 20 IBM computers was set up and a qualified teacher arranged
to run this programme. The programme is progressing well.
Initially, about 50 students have opted for computer training by
paying an annual fee of Rs. 1,500/- per student.

3.2.6 Co-operative Housing for Weaker Seetion

It was observed by RWB, right from the beginning of its work
that, in all the Project villages, the members of the Depressed (i.e.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 91

Oppressed) Classes and Castes, namely, Mahar, Mang, Ramoshi,
Hollar and others normally lived in some make-shift huts in a comer
of the village. It was, therefore, felt that these sections of the society
must be provided with proper housing. RWB took initiative and
formed Co-operative Housing Societies in two villages, namely
Devapur and Pulkoti, and constmcted 36 and 25 houses in the two
villages respectively, with the labour contribution from the
members themselves. Each member was given an open land area of
one guntha with a cement concrete house, using local sand, at the
minimum cost of Rs. 2,500/- per house.

Besides, under the Government’s Indira Awas Yojana, 10
houses each were constmcted for the members of the Depressed
(i.e. Oppressed) Classes and Castes at Villages Shirtav and
Palasvade. By now, almost all the Project villages have been
covered under this scheme and most of the members of the weaker
sections of the society have been provided with pucca houses.

3.2.7 Road and Communication

Infrastractural development of the area forms an integral part
of both social and economic development of the people. RWB
therefore, gave priority to the improvement of the inter-village
roads and all roads connecting the market town of Mhaswad. With
the co-operation of the Zilla Parishad, approximately 65 kilometers
of roads were constmcted, on which, in due course of time, tarring
has been done. Now, there are pucca tar roads. RWB on its own and
with financial support of the Zilla Parishad also constmcted culverts
and small bridges wherever necessary so as to make them all-
weather roads.

When RWB started its work, the nearest Post Office was at
Mhaswad only but after much persuasion. Branch Post Offices were
opened at Devapur and Pulkoti. Presently, all the nine villages are
also connected with telephone lines, making inter-village and
external communication fast and easy.

92 Surest! Suratwala

NATURE AND MAGNITUDE OF CHANGE AND
DEVELOPMENT

A s we have seen in the previous chapter, RWB worked
intensively in the field of rural development - both economic
and social - for about 35 years in a remote and drought-prone area.
Therefore, it is but natural that RWB should give some idea
regarding both the nature and the magnitude of change brought
about as a result of its intervention. Overall, there is no doubt that
there have been significant changes like increase in agricultural
production, altered occupational pattern and sources of income,
reduction in seasonal migration, use of more durable consumer
goods, spread of education, improvement in transport and
communication, development of infra-structure and general
awakening amongst the people for better living conditions.

4.1 Impact of Development: Evaluation and Analysis

A noteworthy aspect of RWB’s work at Devapur has been that,
at certain intervals, it made a special effort to assess and evaluate
the impact of its programmes and activities on the living condition
in the villages, both in quantitative and qualitative terms. The object
of these studies was to monitor, modify and, if necessary, re-
formulafe fhe programmes on a realistic basis in lighf of fhe
experience gained from time fo time. The following studies were
undertaken:

• The first such study, perhaps a little too late, was made in the
year 1959-60, by the Gokhale Institute of Politics and
Economics, Pune in a very exhaustive and detailed manner,
and therefore could be treated as a Bench Mark Survey.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 93

• An evaluation study was undertaken in 1972-73, after about
20 years of the starting of the work, by Sh. Y.S. Pandit of the
Department of Statistics & Economics, Tata Industries Ltd.,
Mumbai. The Report assessed the nature and magnitude of
the progress made and also tried to analyze in broad terms,
the factors responsible for the failure of some of the
programmes.

• The final survey was done in 1986 by Sh. Y.S. Pandit to
review and evaluate the overall progress made, including the
achievements and failures, and to assess the total impact of
developmental work on the lives of the people and the area,
in comparison with the findings of the earlier studies.

However, it is problematic that the latest statistical information
available on all aspects of development work, is only till 1986 and
the RWB terminated its operations and withdrew from the area in
the year 1989-90. Yet, we would certainly like to share our valuable
experiences, conclusions and the lessons learnt by us. Comparison
of the data available from the Bench Mark Survey (1959-60) to the
second evaluation (1972-73) and onwards to the final survey
(1986), yields a picfure of ‘growfh’ as well as ‘progress’ of the
Project villages while, at the same time, raising serious
developmental concerns.

4.1.1. Growth of Income

The conventional measure of the material well-being of the
people is the net annual income. According to the final 1986
evaluation sfudy, fhe fofal income of the Project villages shot up
from Rs. 27.1 lakhs (1971-72) to Rs. 116.2 lakhs (1983-84) i.e.
about 4.3-fold, and the growth from the Bench Mark survey (1959-
60) was of the order of 14.3-fold from Rs. 8.1 lakhs to 116.2 lakhs -
a staggering magnitude, even after making allowance for inflation
(See Table 4.1).

This certainly provides a good indication of the direction of
change that has taken place, in spite of several limitations and
constraints, in arriving at income from different sources, with a fair

94 Suresh Suratwala

degree of accuracy. However, the growth of population was of the
order of 127% which severely affected the increase in terms of per
capita income

Table 4.1

Total Income* of Villages: From Various Sources
- Comparative Statement

(Rs. in ‘000)

Source of
Income

1959 - 60

1971 - 72

1983 - 84

Rs.

%of

Total

Rs.

%of

Total

Rs.

%of

Total

1. Agriculture

355

44.1

1310

48.4

4066

35.0

2. Sheep/Goats

208

7.7

770

6.6

3. Milk/Ghee

7.7

137

5.0

603

5.2

4. Eggs/ Grains

3.2

3.4

469

4.0

5. Fish

0.2

0.4

109

0.9

6. Vegetables

0.1

7. Manure

0.6

0.8

169

1.5

8. Hiring of
Bullocks &
Bullock Carts

1.5

0.9

0.05

9. Wages

140

17.4

324

12.0

2128

18.3

10. Salaries

808

7.0

11. Engine Rent
(Net)

1.0

0.2

12. Savings of
Seasonal
Migrants

2.8

196

7.2

1046

9.0

13. Remittances
from Outside

3.4

156

5.8

725

6.2

14. Miscellaneous

10.3

196

7.3

691

5.95

Total

805

100.0

2705

100.0

11624

100.0

*At current prices.

The per capita income went up 6.31-fold from Rs. 124 to Rs.
783. The impact of RWB’s Family Planning Programme, which was
a late starter, is yet to become significant. Nevertheless, there was a
perceptible transformation in the style and standard of living of the
people. On the basis of the field surveys, the estimated population
of the Project villages went up from 6,550 in 1959-60 to 14,838 in

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 95

1983-84, which is more than double (See Chapter 2, Table 2.3). A
broad indication of the general improvement in the standard of
living in the villages is observed from usage of durable consumer
goods like cups and saucers, stoves, electric light, torches, bicycles,
transistor radios, wrist watches, metallic utensils, sewing machines
and such other goods (See Table 4.7). This is the visible impact of
RWB’s work associated with modernization. Today, most of the
families have constructed their own pucca houses; have electric
light connections, miming water taps, T.V. sets, motor cycles,
telephones, furniture, tractors, tempos, jeeps, and such other item of
comfort

4.1.2. Progress in Agriculture

The agricultural development of the nine villages of the
Devapur Project is reflected in several sectors. The total area under
cultivation has recorded a sizeable increase. As a result of the
concerted efforts made to conserve and utilize all the available
water resources, the proportion of acreage under irrigation had gone
up from mere 5.6% in 1959-60 to 13.8% in 1971-72 and again to
16.3% in 1983-84 (See Chapter 3, Table 3.1). One can imagine how
much more it must have increased by now, after another 20 years,
despite the fact that the over-all general underground water level of
the area has been going down on account of the phenomenon of
over-exploitation of water in several parts of the country.

The increase in the irrigated area does not take into account the
substantial increase in the area yielding two or more crops in a year
and supplementary watering to the rabi crops. Apart from a shift
within the cereals group itself, the commercial crops like sugarcane,
cotton, groundnut and onion are now being cultivated on an
increasing scale (See Table 4.2). Of late, young farmers have shifted
to horticultural crops like pomegranate (which require less water)
and grapes on an intensive basis due to their higher yields and
availability of market with remunerative prices.

Generally speaking, with the persistence of increasing trend,
the share of commercial crops, in the total value of agricultural

96 Suresh Suratwala

production, increased from 12.3% in 1959-60 to 30.9% in 1983-84
(See Table 4.2). Presently, it must be much higher. The share of
cereal crops declined from 81.8% to 67.2 % in 1983-84 and must
have declined even further, by now (See Table 4.2). The area under
commercial crops and their production, particularly crops like
sugarcane, cotton and onion, have been varying much due to annual
fluctuations and the uncertain pricing policies of the government.

Table 4.2

Changes in Cropping Pattern:

Proportionate Crop-wise Share in Agricnltnral Prodnction

Sr. No.

Crop

1950-60

1971-72

1983-84

Cereals

Bajara

30.8

17.2

15.8

Jawar

41.2

38.5

41.4

Wheat

5.8

6.6

7.6

Sal

3.3

3.1

0.6

Maize

0.7

4.3

1.8

Total

81.8

69.7

67.2

Cash

Crops

Sugarcane

1.6

2.7

Cotton

5.6

15.7

5.2

Groundnut

0.2

2.1

10.2

Onion

0.8

4.4

Chillies

4.9

3.2

2.3

Total

12.3

24.5

30.9

Others

5.9

5.8

1.9

Total

A+B+C

100.0

The farmers of the drought-prone area, who were earlier
dependent on the vagaries of nature, are now dependent on traders’
whims and the government pricing policies. There is no assured
income for her/him from agriculture and allied activities, in contrast
to the urban factory/office employee whose income invariably goes
on increasing as per the Price Index. This is grave injustice against
the rural people due to which disparities have been growing in
India, which has dangerous implications for the future.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 97

4.1.3. Seasonal Migration

The development programmes created substantial employment
opportunities within the villages, particularly due to the irrigated
labour-intensive cash crops.

Table 4.3

Number of Seasonal Out-Migrants According
to Duration of Migration: 1983-84*

(Figures in brackets indicate number of families reporting seasonal out-migrants.)

Village

No. 4-

Duration of Migration (in months)

Total

migrant

Total

No. of
families

10.0

(2)

(4)

32.1

(1)

(7)

(9)

36.0

(3)

(1)

(12)

(1)

(18)

55.7

(2)

(5)

(32)

(39)

10.0

(2)

134

62.2

(15)

(6)

(7)

(28)

2.2

(1)

16.0

(3)

(1)

(4)

60.0

(1)

(7)

(9)

(13)

(30)

Total

102

187

385

36.1

Persons

(1)

(3)

(26)

(22)

(77)

(3)

(2)

(1)

(135)

0.3

1.3

26.5

19.7

48.6

2.6

0.5

100

*Based on 16.6 % sample.

**Numerical Notation for Project Villages - 1. Devapur; 2. Gangoti; 3. Hingni; 4.
Jambhulni; 5. Palasvade; 6. Panwan; 7. Pulkoti; 8. Shirtav; 9. Valai.

*** Proportion of total out-migrants in percentage.

98 Suresh Suratwala

Given the increasing population, these new employment
opportunities have not been adequate for absorbing the entire
surplus labour force in the area, all the year round. All types of
unskilled earthen works in watershed development and roads have
also reached its saturation. A large number of people continue to
move out of the area in search of work and fodder for their animals,
particularly during a drought year which occurs once every two or
three years. However, the extent of seasonal migration, both in
terms of size as well as duration, has gone down considerably. In
spite of this, the value of surplus savings brought by the migrant
labour and their share in the total income of the village has been
much larger now (see Table 4.4). At the same time, with
increasing education, one person at least from each family is
now permanently employed outside the area, as teacher, clerk,
driver, police, doctor, engineer or in some other job, does remit
some income back home.

Table 4.4

Contribution of Migrants’ Savings and
Remittances to Village Income - Comparative Statement

(Percentage of total village income)

Village

Migrants’

Savings

Remittances

Total

1971-72 1983-84

1971-72

1983-84

1971-72

1983-84

2.8

0.1

4.1

11.6

4.2

4.5

9.1

5.5

9.7

10.0

18.8

3.9

25.9

3.3

7.2

29.2

8.1

19.2

2.9

3.7

11.0

22.9

2.3

0.3

2.7

5.0

0.3

15.6

0.9

1.2

16.8

0.9

1.8

0.2

20.7

18.9

22.5

19.1

1.5

1.6

3.2

11.6

4.7

13.2

16.6

19.9

1.0

7.0

17.7

26.9

All

Villages

7.2

9.0

5.8

6.2

13.0

15.2

*Numerical Notation for Project Villages - 1. Devapur; 2. Gangoti; 3. Hingni;
4. Jambhulni; 5. Palasvade; 6. Panwan; 7. Pulkoti; 8. Shirtav; 9. Valai.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 99

4.1.4. Occupational Pattern

Since no comparative data are available for the earlier years, it
may not be possible to present relative figures. However, based on
the principle source of income, the whole picture appears to be
interesting. Despite the fact that the basic character of the area is
drought-prone and poor soil quality, the growth in the total
agricultural production is quite substantial on account of massive
water conservation work undertaken by RWB and government
agencies under ‘Employment Guarantee Scheme’. Agriculture is the
main source of income for only about 50% of the families.

Employment in the Project villages and outside during the
period of seasonal migration, mainly due to surrounding sugar
factories, still remains the second most important occupation of the
people with about 35% (See Table 4.5 & 4.6). Besides, the Dhangar
(shepherd) community also migrates to the Konkan area in search of
grazing lands and fodder for their animals.

Table 4.5

Occupational Pattern

Sr.

No.

Principle Source

of Income

Proportion of
Total Families (%)

Agriculture

Dairy Farming

Sheep Rearing

Wages

Salaries

Traditional

Functions

Others

One of the reasons for this peculiar phenomenon could be the
persistence of the joint-family system, allowing large size of
families. This makes it possible for one brother to work in
agriculture while the other goes out as a wage earner, in order to

100 Suresh Suratwala

enable the family to earn part of the total income in cash for daily
needs, with the food grains continuing to come from agriculture.
Nevertheless, the fact remains that about 50% of the people engaged
in agriculture contribute only about 35% of the total income of the
village in a drought-prone region (See Table 4.1).

This also underlines the crucial importance of focusing
attention on a priority basis on the subsidiary agricultural activities
for additional income generation for livelihood. RWB did try to
concentrate on poultry, sheep and goat keeping along with dairy
farming and fishing but not much headway could be made due to
infrastructural limitations, such as lack of proper marketing
facilities, good roads & communications, regular supply of power
and green fodder all the year round.

Table 4.6

Classification of Families by Main Occnpation: 1983-84

(Percentage)

Village

No.%

Oecup-

ationf

Total

Agricul¬

ture

55.0

28.6

50.0

67.2

35.0

44.5

56.5

52.0

30.0

48.9

Dairy

Farming

5.0

3.6

2.0

5.0

2.2

1.6

Wage

earning

25.0

46.4

44.0

22.9

25.0

44.5

19.6

48.0

42.0

34.2

Service

10.0

3.6

15.0

4.4

13.0

6.0

5.1

Sheep

Rearing

3.5

15.0

1.1

Traditi¬

onal

Funct¬

ionaries

2.8

5.0

4.4

2.2

6.0

2.4

Others

5.0

14.3

4.0

7.1

2.2

6.5

16.0

6.7

Total

families

374

*Numerical Notation for Project Villages - 1. Devapur; 2. Gangoti; 3. Hingni;
4. Jambhulni; 5. Palasvade; 6. Panwan; 7. Pulkoti; 8. Shirtav; 9. Valai.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 101

4.1.5. Infrastructure Development

In addition to attending to the immediate felt-needs of the
people like drinking water, medical facilities, education etc., RWB
also made heavy expenditure on infrastructural facilities over a
period of the last several years. However, this being a long-term
investment, involving a longer gestation period, the results are
relatively slower and whose full benefit would be reaped in due
course of time.

4.1.6. Spread of Education

By the time RWB withdrew its development programme from
the Project villages in 1990, every village had a Pre-Primary
Nursery (Balwadi or Anganwadi), Primary and Upper Primary
School respectively up to Class IV and Class VII, High Schools up
to Class X in four villages and one Junior College with
Agriculture/Science facilities. The proportion of the school-going
boys and girls has definitely shown improvement and the literacy
rate has gone up in these villages (See Chapter III, Tables 3.6 to
3.8). A majority of the students passing SSC and HSC examinations
were able to secure employment and thus contribute towards the
total family income. Some of them were encouraged to go for
university education by providing them suitable scholarships.
Today, a large number of them are school teachers, college
professors, agricultural officers, medical and veterinary doctors and
engineers. A few enterprising young educated boys have started
their own business in towns and cities. All of them are today
contributing substantially to the family income and improvement in
their standard of living in the form of constructing new houses in
their respective villages and providing modem amenities. Villagers
have realized the importance of education and each one of them is
sending his/ her children to the schools.

102 Suresh Suratwala

4.2 Transformation: From Subsistence Migratory Living to
Stability and Comfort

4.2.1 The Overall Picture

Bearing in mind that Devapur and other Project villages are
situated in the worst drought-prone region of Maharashtra State,
it can be stated without any exaggeration that RWB has brought
about a perceptible change in the standard of living of the people.

When the RWB began its first pioneering rural development
project in early 1950s, the Devapur area was more or less
completely isolated from the rest of the world. There were only
cart-tract roads connecting villages with Mhaswad, the nearest small
market town. There were no medical facilities in the villages.
Kerosene lantern was the only source of light in the night. Soon
after sunset, the people went to bed after gulping whatever little was
available as supper. The Primary School, with one teacher
conducting four classes at a time, if it existed, functioned
perfunctorily in the village chawadi of the temple. In spite of scanty
rains, the flat terrain of basalt rock was always subject to floods and
soil erosion, when it rained. The thin murum top soil yielded hardly
any crop of Bajra worth its name. During summer months, even
drinking water was scarce. No wonder, under these conditions, the
villagers either lived a very precarious existence for survival or
migrated to Konkan along with their family and animals in search of
food, fodder and employment, leaving the village with the look of a
barren desert.

But in the early 1950s, Sir Dorabji Tata Trast (SDTT) through
its RWB reached out to these villages and did something like a
‘miracle’. As a result of RWB’s multifarious, comprehensive and
integrated development and welfare work, the picture slowly but
steadily started to change. The scientific and systematic approach of
conservation of water and soil resulted in the improvement of
underground water table in the first phase of Watershed
Development viz., contour bunding, nalla bunding, percolation
tanks and other measures. This was followed by its proper

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 103

utilization through digging of wells, old and new, lift irrigation in
small groups and provision of diesel and electric pumpsets, making
a significant difference to the quality of the lives of the people. The
supply of potable drinking water, eradication of epidemics,
availability of medical/ health facilities, increase in agricultural
production and improvement in the per capita income, all together
led them to better standard of living.

Table 4.7

Families Owning Dnrable Consnmer Goods*
(1983-84)

(In Numbers)

Village

Goods 4r

Total

Inter

-view

Per

Cent

Radio

27.0

Watch

49.7

Bicycle

41.4

Sewing

machine

8.0

Iron cot

21.4

Furniture

4.5

Electric L.

23.3

Petromax

7.5

Lantern

47.9

Torch

41.2

Stove

31.6

Utensils

97.6

Cup-

Saucers

94.4

Others

2.4

Total

intervie¬

wed

100

*Based on 16.6 % sample.

**Numerical Notation for Project Villages - 1. Devapur; 2. Gangoti; 3. Hingni; 4.
Jambhulni; 5. Palasvade; 6. Panwan; 7. Pulkoti; 8. Shirtav; 9. Valai.

104 Suresh Suratwala

Quiet, continuous and persistent efforts by RWB, over a period
of about 35 years, resulted in the substantial availability of cereals
like Jawar and Bajra, the staple food of the local people, almost
making them self-sufficient in food supply. With increased
irrigation the cropping pattern of the Project Villages underwent a
major change. Pockets of double crops, one of which was a cash
crop like sugarcane, cotton, groundnut and onion, appeared on the
horizon. This led to improvement in the purchasing power of the
people, reflecting a definite change in their lifestyle and possession
and usage of more and a variety of durable consumer goods like
metallic utensils, kerosene stoves, cups and saucers, bicycles, wrist
watches, torch lights, transistor radios, sewing machines, motor
cycles, T.V., telephone, furniture, electric lights, running water,
toilets etc. (See Table 4.7).

All these improvements made the general life of the rural
people of a famine tract, a little more cheerful and satisfying. With
the advent of electric power in the Project Villages, the streets and
houses were lighted, flour mills saved the monotonous daily
morning chore of the women-folk, power for irrigation water pumps
shifted from diesel to electricity. Primary Schools were upgraded to
High Schools with more Laboratory and Library facilities, thus
improving the quality of education with more teachers and more
students in class rooms. A few meritorious

students were encouraged to go in for university education
with scholarships from RWB. Attention was paid to better roads and
communication and the State Transport buses began moving in
these villages too. The conditions of the weaker section also
improved with the provision of better housing and livelihood
activities like goat keeping and fishing.

However, the magnitude of development in this tract has to be
assessed not so much on the basis of the growth of income, increase
in agricultural production and usage of various types of durable
goods or electric light in their homes but more in terms of reduction
of the severity of regular droughts, which RWB tried to ensure.
From this point of view, it may be observed that, though the

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 105

seasonal migration is bound to remain a structural feature of the
economic and social life of this area for quite some time, the over¬
all life in the Project Villages appears to be immensely more stable
and secured now than it was when RWB first came on the scene.
This is demonstrated by the relative ease with which the villages
face the drought that continues to return frequently, mainly because
of access to several other sources of alternative livelihood and more
employment facilities in the surrounding area, apart from the
regular financial remittances every month from the young educated
having jobs in towns and cities. Today, almost every family can
boast of having at least one or two educated youth in employment
somewhere, contributing her/his share towards the family income
and participating in improving the standard of living of family
members by constructing a new and better house or buying a motor¬
cycle or a T.V. set and looking after family’s overall health and
education.

Table 4.8

Classification of Family Members Permanently Living Ontside tbe
Village According to Edncation: 1983-84*

Village

No**

A®

Level of education

Total

Migr¬

ants

Educated
Migr¬
ants %

Total

80.0

22.5

60.0

25.0

56.5

14.0

30.0

11.4

66.7

10.0

25.0

6.7

76.7

41.3

50.0

12.0

50.0

24.0

All

Villages

143

234

61.1

18.7

*Based on 16.6 % sample.

**Numerical Notation for Project Villages - 1. Devapur; 2. Gangoti; 3. Hingni;

4. Jambhulni; 5. Palasvade; 6. Panwan; 7. Pulkoti; 8. Shirtav; 9. Valai.

^Alphabetical Notation for Column Titles - A. No. of Families Reporting Permanent
Migrants; B. With Education up to SSC; C. With SSC & Technical Education; D. With
Graduation & above; E. Illiterate; F. % of Families Reporting Permanent Migrants.

106 Suresh Suratwala

In short, it could be said without any hesitation that the general
living conditions have immensely improved in all the Project
Villages. Almost every family has a Bank account which could be
relied upon in times of emergency. There is a Junior College at
Devapur with Agriculture and Science faculty. There is an Artificial
Insemination Centre at Devapur and more than 100 acres of land is
under pomegranate cultivation, the fruits of which are exported to
Gulf countries. Computer Literacy Training is becoming part of the
Junior College at Devapur. The Pulkoti village has a Primary Health
Centre with hospitalization facilities. S.T. buses are plying almost in
all the villages every few hours and telephone connections are
available in most of the houses^"^. Some of the village students, who
were given scholarships for medical studies, have opened their own
clinics in their villages. If anyone who had visited these villages in
the early 1950s were to revisit today, she/he would certainly find an
‘oasis’ in the famine tract of Maharashtra.

4.2.2 Investment in the Project

It is rather difficult to put finger on one final figure. This is
because the total investment made on various development
programmes and welfare activities and its administration by RWB
was made in collaboration with a large number of government and
non-govemment agencies. Yet, it may be possible to give some
indication about the total expenditure on development in the nine
Project Villages, excluding the value of the substantial labour
contributed voluntarily by the villagers themselves, would be over
Rs. 1.30 crores. This is inclusive of the financial assistance procured
from the government under various development schemes, the loans
granted by the Banks to Co-operatives and the supplies of food
under the ‘Food for Work’ Programme from the Catholic Relief
Service (CRS). Between 70 to 75% of the total expenditure has
been incurred on the development of infrastructure and productive

The author’s reference to most of the houses having telephone eonnections must
be for 1970s and 1980s when this was viewed as a status symbol, especially in
erstwhile drought-prone villages. - Ed.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 107

assets of permanent value. Considering the quantum of investment
normally made by the NGOs in comparable situations, the RWB
investment is definitely modest but utilized most economically and
efficiently for the benefit of the people, in contrast to the manner in
which funds are spent extravagantly both by the government and the
vast NGO sector, with honourable exceptions notwithstanding.

4.3 Dimensions of Change -1: A Soeio-Politieal Perspeetive

While assessing the nature and magnitude of change through
rural development work, the dimensions of change need not be
restricted only to increase in production and income; improvement
in the standard of living; and provision of various types of
infrastructural facilities to the villages. Instead, critical attention
must be paid to certain invisible but subtle changes occurring in the
socio-economic structure and the operating system of the rural
society. The spectrum of social change must take into consideration
the long-term changes as well.

Based on my in-depth study of what was happening to the nine
villages for 35 years, 1 would contend that several invisible
processes of change continue to occur in the structure of the rural
society, even without a programme for social transformation.
Slowly but certainly, the land holdings of a substantial majority of
small and marginal farmers are surreptitiously grabbed or taken
over either by a Sale-Deed or forcefully in connivance with the
revenue officers through legal or illegal alterations in the land
records. To make it possible, the big landlords and Patils of the
village use their undue power and influence to take advantage of the
dire and desperate socio-economic circumstances of the small and
marginal farmers or even manipulate to create their family feuds. A
substantial number of such small and marginal land holdings have
been thus transferred in favour of the powerful elements.
Consequently, the poor peasants have, by and large, become

^^Mostly SCs/STs and poor OBCs, the latter also including a substantial section of
Muslims, as documented by the Justice Sachar Committee Report (2006). - Ed.

108 Suresh Suratwala

landless labourers. No reliable statistical data are available but
processes like these have been happening for long. A systematic
study of such processes and their impact on the rural society is
overdue. It would reveal how exploitation, including land
alienation, of the oppressed castes and classes continues to be
structurally instituted to date, despite the Constitutional mandate
enshrined in Articles 14, 15(1), 21, 38(2) and 39(a, b) in general
and 39A and 46 in particular for the protection of SCs, STs and
other weaker sections from social injustice and exploitation.

The second phenomenon. Due to an incremental shift of the
farmers from the farming sector, there is a steady increase in the
number of the Absentee Agriculturist. The farmers, with a desire to
make quick and easy money, have made investments in the non¬
farming occupations like trading and thus given up farming by sub¬
leasing their lands to others.

Both the above two processes are inter-dependant and
supplementary to each other. Whether such a shift from Productive
Occupation to Unproductive Occupation, the latter generally known
as the Service or Business Sector, is desirable or not, may be a
debatable question. Yet, there is no doubt whatsoever that a
substantial expansion of the service sector, even in rural areas, is
underway This would certainly be at the cost of dismantling the
agriculture sector, leading to steadily diminishing agricultural
production - a notable shift from productive to unproductive sector.
It is my guess that the service sector, which was hardly about 30%
of the rural economy only 10-15 years ago^^, has more than doubled
by now due to neo-liberal policies under globalization. The
aforesaid shift would necessarily lead to a rise in the rate of
unemployment, disemployment and migration of the rural people to
the urban areas in search of livelihood.

Money has become far more important in the present age of
neo-liberal capitalism than ever before, irrespective of how one

view of the book’s manuscript being completed in 2006, the author’s reference
to “10-15 years ago” implies the period of 1991-96. - Ed.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 109

makes it. The means of earning money, whether destructive or not,
do not matter anymore. This is just an example, like the tip of an
iceberg, of the basic changes rapidly taking place in the value
system of the country, including the rural society. In villages where
life was proverbially simple, honest and satisfying, it has become
manipulative and dishonest. There are invisible and subtle ways in
which the undercurrents are operating and the value framework is
undergoing drastic changes which need to be urgently analysed by
the social scientists. Ethical degeneration, in both the rural and
urban societies, is a serious issue that can be overlooked only at the
peril of the nation’s future.

Generally, most of the evaluation studies and survey reports
produced by the typical NGOs and the government agencies as well
as the reports of the specialized professional evaluation
organizations do not even attempt to unfold such aspects of rural
development and social change. These aspects, in my humble view,
are of great significance from the standpoint of long-term planning
and their adverse impact on the rural society. More often than not,
the issue of social change in favour of the oppressed and exploited
masses in the rural society is deliberately and/or purposefully either
underplayed or ignored altogether by the so-called ‘professional’
experts and their NGOs, presumably at the behest of the neo-liberal
funding agencies.

The VOs, to be distinguished from NGOs , engaged in rural
development must fry and comprehend such processes of the
shifting character of various productive sectors, socio-economic
undercurrents and cross-currents. These processes assume vital
importance in the larger global context of the assault of
‘Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization’ on our overall
economy and, therefore, on the entire society. Awareness,
knowledge and understanding, informed by the political economy,
are of critical importance for planning programmes for rural

See Introduction, Footnote 19, for comparison of VOs vs. NGOs.

110 Suresh Suratwala

development and social change. The rural workers and social
scientists need to systematically investigate the dynamics of social
change, with reference to such processes, by focusing on material
and socio-cultural development impacting on the rural society.

In my view, the ownership pattern and actual control of the
natural resources — land, water, forest, rivers, mines and oceans and
all other immovable assets - does play a vital role in moulding and
reforming the society. This issue must be critically engaged with. It
is of no use doing patch work like increasing the output and
production or improving the national income or per capita income
within the prevailing unjust, unequal and exploitative structure of
the society. Hence, disparity and discrimination have become
fundamental concerns today, with poverty being an inevitable
outcome.

Socialization and community control of the natural resources
are among the most fundamental issues of India. Until and unless,
these are resolved in a just manner, all our efforts at development,
both urban and rural, are futile. Indeed, individual ownership of the
natural resources blatantly violates Article 39(b) as well as Article
39(c) of the Constitution. What an individual with co-operation of
the community produces may belong to her/him. However, the
means of production given by the Mother Earth belong to all.
Hence, the natural wealth given by the Mother Earth must be
utilized equitably for the good of the whole humanity.

4.4 Dimensions of Change - II: Post-Globalisation Changes

We have earlier discussed how a substantial proportion of
small and marginal farmers are forced to become landless labourers
due to appropriation of their small land holdings, either out of
economic necessity or under duress (See Section 4.3, 2nd Para). To
be sure, there has been a reverse process as well. Some of the small
and marginal farmers or even labourers have, out of their hard-
earned income and limited savings, managed to purchase land and
thus either expanded their land holdings or became small or

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 111

marginal farmers once again. It has been a two-way traffic but, on
the whole, the appropriation of the land holdings of the small or
marginal farmers, thereby making them landless labourers, has been
the dominant phenomenon.

Similarly, broadly speaking, the trend amongst most of the
farmers of becoming absentee farmers and getting engaged in
trading or other service sector activities, is increasingly the
preferred option. The preference for white collar jobs and not
working with one’s own hands in the farms has over the years
become more of the norm than otherwise. In short, the culture of
productive manual work, as Gandhi had advocated passionately,
stands replaced by ‘parasitical’ work in the form of opening of
shops and/or acting as middle-men in various transactions. Many of
the farmers have purchased Tractors, Jeeps, Tempos or Auto-
Rickshaws and are operating them on a hire basis in order to earn an
additional income, besides farming.

Table 4.9

Distribution of Land Holdings: Comparative Statement

(in percentage)

No.

Size of Holdings (acres)

1971-72

1983-84

Less or equal to 1.0

4.3

4.4

1.1-2

5.1

7.5

2.1-3

7.9

8.1

3.1-4

5.1

6.7

4.1-5

6.0

8.7

5.1-10

27.8

27.2

10.1-15

15.1

12.8

15.1-20

11.7

6.4

20.1-25

5.3

4.6

10.

25.1-30

4.1

4.4

11.

30.1-35

2.9

2.5

12.

35.1-40

1.2

1.5

13.

40.1-45

0.8

2.0

14.

45.1-50

0.7

0.9

15.

More than 50

2.1

2.3

*Based on 16.6% sample.

112 Suresh Suratwala

Table 4.10

Number and Proportion of Landless Families: 1983-84*

Village

Total No. of

No. of landless

% of landless

No.**

Families

families

5.0

14.3

6.0

5.71

10.0

2.2

9.7

12.0

10.0

All Villages

374

7.8

* Based onl6.6 % sample. **See Table No. 4.11 for Numerical Notation.

Table 4.11

Production of Various Agricultural Crops:

Tbeir Relative Position: 1983-84

(For each crop, value in Rs. ’00 in the upper row & percentage in the lower row)

Village

No* ^
Crops].

Total

Bajra

277

177

323

307

206

226

1619

14.0

8.7

14.8

17,4

4.7

29.1

17.0

1.2

45.3

15.8

Jowar

585

161

547

1026

407

456

510

294

253

4239

29.4

40.5

45.7

55.2

31.8

43.3

42.1

39.1

50.7

41.4

Wheat

200

133

112

105

776

10.0

6.9

11.0

6.0

6.7

1.3

8.7

12.8

0.7

7.6

Maize

177

2.9

3.4

2.4

1.0

3.5

0.1

0.4

1.3

1.7

Sal

3.9

0.2

1.6

0.7

0.8

Sugar-

394

252

148

899

Cane

19.8

5.5

2.7

19.7

2.5

1.9

19.6

0.4

8.8

Cotton

154

140

105

530

7.7

4.8

0.5

0.2

11.0

3.5

8.6

9.0

5.2

Guou-

167

100

306

198

133

1048

ndnut

8.4

25.1

2.6

16.5

15.5

12.6

7.6

1.3

2.3

10.2

Onion

105

156

448

5.3

13.0

1.1

5.1

4.1

2.2

4.0

4.4

Chillies

239

2.5

4.9

2.9

1.5

0.2

2.7

3.1

5.1

2.3

Gram

103

0.4

0.7

7.1

1.0

others

0.2

0.1

0.4

0.2

0.8

0.4

6.5

0.6

0.7

Total

1988

398

1197

1857

1278

1053

1211

753

499

10234

*Numerical Notation for Project Villages - 1. Devapur; 2. Gangoti; 3. Hingni; 4. Jambhulni; 5. Palasvade;
6. Panwan; 7. Pulkoti; 8. Shirtav; 9. Valai.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 113

There has been a major change in the attitude toward farm
work. When RWB started the Devapur Project, many of the farmers
used to themselves cultivate sweet potatoes and/or carrots on small
patches of their land and the agricultural labourers used to work for
a major part of the day from early morning onwards, digging out
sweet potatoes and/or carrots from under the soil. The tops/greens
of both of these crops were invaluable green fodder for the animals
and the root i.e. sweet potatoes and carrots were useful as nutritious
food for human beings. The village society was entirely based on
the barter system and there was no monetary transaction at all. The
labourers used to get sweet potatoes or carrots as wages and the
farmers used to get the green fodder for their animals. Now, this
process has disappeared altogether. There are very few in the
Project Villages who still grow the cereal crops which have been
essentially replaced by the cash crops (See Table 4.12).

Table 4.12

Number and Proportion of Families Reporting
Self-Sufficiency in Food Grains: 1983-84*

No.

Villages

Total

Number of
Families

Families Reporting Self-
Sufficiency

Number Percentage

Devapur

52.5

Gangoti

21.4

Hingni

30.0

Jambhulni

51.4

Palasvade

50.0

Panwan

11.1

Pulkoti

52.2

Shirtav

36.0

Valai

8.0

All Villages

374

130

34.7

Based on 16.6 % sample

114 Suresh Suratwala

Another change we have been observing is on account of the
large-scale expansion of education. Those among the younger
generation, who got the opportunity to access school education
and/or higher education, are presently employed either as school
teachers, policemen, drivers. Govt, officers, doctors or engineers
and, therefore, receive reasonably good salaries. Often, they use the
money for improving the living standard of their families by
constructing a new pucca modem type of house in the village or
buying a motorcycle or some household consumable item. This is
certainly a good thing from the standpoint of the raral families.
However, the question arises: “Whither is our good old concept of
the young people returning to their villages after completing their
education in the cities (or even abroad) with a view to improve the
living conditions of the community or the entire village.” Earlier,
several young people, inspired by Gandhi, who left the city and
moved to the villages, would have similar expectations from the
educated youth of the present generation as well. But, the post¬
globalisation shift in the objective socio-economic conditions along
with the retrogressive cultural impact of neoliberalism has left
hardly any space for such expectations.

It may well be argued that there is nothing wrong in the young
educated shifting to towns and cities and earning money by doing a
job and, out of their savings, trying to improve the conditions of
their respective families in the villages. This may be treated as a
normal process, just as the urbanites go abroad for jobs and help the
families by sending the required money . Also, it is acknowledged
that the villages are unable to provide work for the educated.

the same time, in view of the shift from capitalism to neo-liberal economic
order, we would do well by recalling Gandhi’s assertion that “India lives in her five
lakh villages”. He contended passionately that the country can’t be liberated from
inequality, poverty, backwardness, patriarchy and caste oppression without
rejuvenating the villages and transforming them into economically, socio-politically
and environmentally sustainable decentralised ‘Republics’. This is notwithstanding
Dr. Ambedkar’s equally challenging and logical assertion that India’s villages are

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 115

Such changes, though subtle, are vital to the future direction
and content of rural development. Yet, admittedly, these changes
are neither measurable nor can be quantified as statistical data.
Possibly, for this reason, these are generally not reflected in the
economic surveys or even the census, being essentially ignored,
knowingly or otherwise. Yet, these ought to be carefully nofed and
acknowledged, while making an assessmenf of the changes brought
about due to development work in the rural areas.

‘fortresses of caste oppression’. However, is this debate resolved by the neoliberal
development model comprising (a) economic growth without ‘employment’; (b)
alienation of the human being from productive manual work; (c) reduction of the
wider social concern to the ‘self of narrow individualism, as evident from the city-
based village youth supporting only their families, rather than having the Gandhian
concern of rejuvenating the whole village; (d) urbanisation at the cost of nature,
climate and sustainable social relations; and (e) regulation and governance of the
human mind and its creativity digitally and, now much worse, through Artificial
Intelligence and machine learning? If the debate is not resolved, which it isn’t, we
will do well by not being carried away by the neo-liberal anti-humanity values and
at least keeping the debate alive! - Ed.

116 Suresh Suratwala

Government Agencies vs. Voluntary Sector:
Differences in Perceptions and Vision

I n the previous chapters, we have presented a systematic data-
based account of the multi-dimensional rural development
programme undertaken by the Rural Welfare Board (RWB) of the
Sir Dorabji Tata Trust in a group of drought-prone nine villages
over a period of 35 years (1955-1990) and its socio-economic
impact. During this period, we often noted significant divergence
between the Maharashtra State Government and the RWB, a
Voluntary Organization (VO), with respect to the basic approach to
Rural Development as well as the system of governance for the
same. Some selected issues are elaborated here which might help in
generalising the experience for similar contexts elsewhere in the
country too.

1. There is a fundamental difference between the Government
and the RWB in terms of the structure of governance and the
administrative approach to Rural Development. The
administrative hierarchy in the Government has a major
adverse bearing upon the decision-making and
implementation. In RWB, the field-level work is very
intensive, with the highly trained professional staff placed
directly at the village level, without any hierarchy. The
presence of specialized professionals in a group of villages
gives a human touch to the development work. This human
touch at the village level is lacking in the government setup.
This is why a voluntary organization like the RWB is far better
placed than the government in connecting and identifying with

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 117

the people, involving them in local planning and seeking their
co-operation in implementation of the programmes. The
personal rapport of the RWB workers with the people also
enables them to have a deeper understanding of the local
resources, aspirations and the organisational potential at the
village level. In addition, there is flexibility, motivation and
efficiency in decision-making and implementation at all levels.
This makes it possible for RWB to give individual attention to
the participants’ concern at the field level. The hierarchical
structure of governance of the state government does not
permit such functioning in either letter or spirit.

2. The provision for adequate, quick, timely and low-interest
short-term and long-term credit on liberal scale and easy terms
and conditions of repayment is a genuine felt-need of the small
and marginal farmers as well as the other families living below
the poverty line. Such a provision created by the RWB is
crucial for productive purposes and for developing the required
infra-structure in the villages. The Government planning in this
regard is politically motivated and the terms and conditions for
credit are unduly ‘liberal’ while also changing from time to
time as per the exigencies to please and appease the people in
order to procure their votes during elections. Consequently, a
sizeable proportion of the credit made available to the farmers
and other villagers on such concessional terms through the Co¬
operative Societies, Nationalized Banks, Government
Departments or other financial institutions has either not been
properly utilized; misused for wasteful unproductive purposes;
or grabbed by the rich and well-to-do people for whom it is not
meant for. Besides, the state government policies, more often
than not, are of populist nature, writing off all the arrears of
debt suddenly to meet the political needs of the party in power.
To begin with, the credit is provided through ‘Loan Melas’
blindly to everybody without following the government’s own
duly laid down procedure and terms and conditions and then it

118 Suresh Suratwala

is not recovered at the sweet will of the people in power. In the
recent cases of suicides by the farmers and the poor due to
heavy financial debt, the factors responsible include the Central
and State Government’s ad-hoc policies of providing ‘over¬
liberalized’ credit through ‘Bank Melas" without proper
guidance and monitoring, misuse of loan amount by the farmers
for non-productive purposes and natural calamities like
droughts, untimely rains or floods, apart from the rising input
costs and unfavourable market price for the farm produce.

In contrast, a VO, operating in a particular area, tries to
supervise and monitor the credit, given through the Co¬
operative Societies and Banks, in order to ensure that it is
properly utilized for the purpose for which it is sanctioned and
repaid in time as per the pre-scheduled instalments. The
Voluntary Workers are, therefore, constantly confronted by the
changing policies of the Government even as they insist on
proper utilization and timely repayment of loans. This basic
difference in the approach between the Government and the
Voluntary Sector acts as a serious hurdle in the rural
development work carried out by the voluntary workers.
Instead of trying to mould the outlook of the farmers, which the
voluntary worker do with great effort, the Government’s
policies and approach come in the way of successful
implementation of the loan-dependent development schemes.

3. In the area of Family Planning, in line with the then prevailing
government policy, after years of sustained educational and
motivational work combined with the due incentives and
disincentives, the voluntary workers prepared the eligible
couple to come forward for Male Sterilization. This made it
possible for the government to organise Vasectomy Camps
with 100% success. However, the government suddenly
changed its policy and started focusing only on Female
Sterilisation i.e. Tubectomy Surgery. Thus, the entire voluntary
endeavour in bringing about a progressive re-orientation of the

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 119

patriarchal mindset of the people in order to accept Male
Sterilisation was wasted. This policy change of emphasis was
indeed a great blow to the Family Planning Programme which
slowed down considerably in voluntary sector’s operational
area too.

4. There is a basic difference in the Rural Development work
undertaken in rural areas located near the towns and cities like
Mumbai, Pune and Nasik and the villages located in remote
backward and drought-prone areas like the Maan Taluka of
Satara District. This is due to several favourable structural
factors that facilitate Rural Development in the rural areas
located in the vicinity of the cities and towns. The availability
of the essential infrastructure (e.g. roads, electricity, transport,
banking, communication, educational and health facilities etc.)
and convenient access to market help catalyse Rural
Development. For instance, the agricultural engineering and
post-harvest processing units and refrigeration and cold storage
facilities in the urban areas can help boost production of cash
crops, vegetables and fruits, oil seeds, dairy products and
poultry in the neighbouring villages, thereby generating
employment too. However, since such facilities are lacking in
the remote villages of Maan Taluka, the highest priority at the
outset has to be given by the Government agency or the VOs
to creation of the aforesaid basic infrastructure and other
modem facilities.

All this obviously calls for mobilisation of vast resources time,
money, energy and professional person-power before any
concrete developmental programmes can be undertaken.
Hence, rural development in such remote areas requires a
much longer gestation period than in the rural areas near urban
centres. In the remote areas, there is not much demand or, at
best, only meagre demand for the surplus produce of the
villages. The potential markets in towns are far away, thereby
making the agricultural produce rather uncompetitive due to its

120 Suresh Suratwala

high transportation cost. The work of RWB-SDTT in Maan
Taluka must be assessed and evaluated taking into
consideration all such unfavourable factors, as elaborated
above. This is why the funded NGOs, vying for quick results
and publicity, tend to select the villages which have convenient
access from the operational standpoint. In this perspective, the
decision of the RWB-SDTT in 1952 (See Chapter 1) to
deliberately and purposefully select the remote drought-prone
impoverished villages of the Maan Taluka for their maiden
Rural Development initiative places the organisation in the
genre of a ‘Voluntary Organisation’ with a mission of its own,
to be distinguished from both the Government Agencies as
well as the NGOs^^.

5. One of the greatest constraints which a Voluntary Organization
has to face in a drought-prone impoverished area like the nine
villages of the Maan Taluka is the seasonal migration of the
people both in search of livelihood for themselves and water
and fodder for the survival of their animals like cattle and
sheep. In short, il is a sfruggle for survival for both the human
beings and the animals. Due to such a seasonal migration, it is
not only the local economy which is adversely affected but it
affects the health and education of men, women and children
as well. Normally, migration is not viewed as a favourable
phenomenon in the rural development discourse but, for the
drought-prone areas, the seasonal migration in not a negative

^’Notably, the decision by SDTT to start the Devapur Project was taken in 1952
(See Chapter 1) when both the TATAs and the Birla House were carrying the tag of
being the leading edge of the ‘National Bourgeoisie’ which gave the ‘Bombay Plan’
as the guiding framework for independent India’s economic policy (See
Introduction). The liberal values of capitalism reflected in this decision, as would be
expected, were steadily eroded with the changing political economy. In the post¬
globalisation India, SDTT’s decisions were evidently being determined instead by
neo-liberal capitalism driven by the finance capital, implying that the SDTT in
1990s would not the same as it was in the early 1950s. Empirical evidence for this
neo-liberal metamorphosis of SDTT is also available (See Introduction, Footnote 19
to be read along with Footnotes 22 & 26). - Ed.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 121

factor but a much-needed positive one. This is because it helps
the migrant families not only to survive with their animals but
it also helps them earn some additional income, which they
bring back home as surplus after 6 months of hard life. Hence,
given my 35-year experience in the area. I have come to the
conclusion that migration under such circumstances is a good
thing for the people, a good source for additional income on
which they can survive after returning to their own village.
Undoubtedly, the education of the children and health of the
family may suffer a setback but for them there is no other
option. One has to accept the situation as it is and make the
best use of it unless the government steps in with a resolve to
transform the political economy of the area, as mandated by
the Constitution.

Some Salient Features of RWB-SDTT

Some of the salient features of the rural development work
undertaken by RWB-SDTT which distinguish it from the State
Government’s approach are briefly discussed below

The Specialist Team of qualified professionals working under
a Coordinator (i.e. the author himself - Ed.) stayed in and
functioned from the Project’s nine villages itself. This helped in
establishing a close rapport with the villagers and also in properly
understanding their core problems. Therefore, the programme
planning could be undertaken with the villagers’ participation. This
identification with the people provided the essential basis for
building mutual confidence with RWB’s field workers.

The Specialist Team enjoyed full freedom to plan programmes
with the cooperation of the local people, thereby enabling them to
utilize their expert knowledge properly while also learning from the
people about their genuine difficulties and problems. There was
minimum paper work and no ‘red tape’ either the focus being on the
ground-level field work and concrefe resulfs. The Coordinator
submifred an Annual Progress Report along wifh a Budgef to the

122 Suresh Suratwala

RWB. The Board in turn would sanction the Annual Budget, as per
its framework. There were no financial restrictions in planning and
implementing the programmes. However, this full freedom itself
generated a great sense of heavy responsibility on the team
members.

The Coordinator with the help of the team members created a
cadre of Gram Sevaks at the village level who also acted as a
Liaison or link between the field workers and the villagers. The
Gram Sevaks worked on an honorary basis. They were provided
‘practical field work training’ by organizing camps from time to
time for about a week or a fortnight. A monthly meeting of these
Gram Sevaks was held regularly for feedback and follow up.

As per the original self-adopted guideline, SDTT did not create
any demonstration farm owned by the Trust in the Project Villages
(See Chapter 1). Demonstrations were organized on new methods,
techniques, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, on the farms of the farmers
themselves. One of the main principles followed by the SDTT was
not to own any movable or immovable property like land or
building in the Project Villages. This principle was invaluable in
creating cordial relations with the people and gaining their full
confidence.

Normally, in the Government setup, the last link in the chain of
administration and execution is generally a Gram Sevak or a Talati.
In our view, both the Gram Sewak and the Talati constitute the
weakest link of the system of governance since they neither share
the Project’s vision nor have any worthwhile perception of the work
involved, required knowledge, grass-roots experience or freedom to
take decision on their own. On the other hand, in the RWB-SDTT’s
Project, the last link was purposefully and consciously conceived as
being fairly strong and powerful by asking the specialists to stay
and work at the village-level itself and take all important decisions
in consultation with the villagers. Thus, an effort was sincerely
made to plan from below and also implement the plans and

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 123

programmes at the field level with participation of the villagers
themselves. In contrast, in the Government setup, either the
Collector/CEO or the EDO at the Taluka level takes the decisions
and instructs the Gram Sevak or Talati to implement them, neither
of the two being empowered to take any initiative on their part.
Thus, in the Government structure, the person who has grass-roots
perception of the local conditions and acquaintance with the
villagers, has no decision-making power while the person, who is
empowered to take decision has no feeling for the village dynamics.
This divergence in the system of governance of Rural Development
programmes adopted by the RWB-SDTT and the Government is
also expectedly reflected in both the content and the direction of
development undertaken respectively by a Voluntary Organisation
and a Government agency. Hence, the inevitable question, “Whither
the destiny of India’s villages?

124 Suresh Suratwala

RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN RETROSPECT

I f we closely observe the pattern of Rural Development since
independence in chronological order we would find that there is a
gradual but remarkable change in the ideology of rural development
At the time of independence, both pre- and post- periods, rural
development work began as idealism to serve the rural people with
a missionary zeal. In due course of time, it changed into
romanticism and then into a romantic venture, followed by
professionalism. Presently, it has become a profitable business - a
commercial activity, an International Trade & Multi-national
enterprise with the support of UN Agencies, World Bank and
International Funding Agencies, an opportunity to exploit the
present situation under the pretext of ‘Development’, with the
support of the western capitalist interests who want the world
divided into two parts, namely. Rich and Poor, Developed and Un¬
developed.

Urban Perceptions vs. Rural Problems

Generally speaking, the Rural Development programmes are
formulated and implemented by the sponsoring/promoting
Governmental or Non-Govemmental Agencies belonging to the
urban educated middle-class, either professionals or motivated with
idealism for doing some ‘good’ to the villagers. Hence, normally
they have an urban background and a fixed mind-set, with a ‘ Social
Work’ approach of good intentions but lacking knowledge of the
genuine problems and the felt-needs of the rural impoverished
people. Nor are they aware of the priorities of the people suffering
from poverty and the conditions prevailing in the villages. With

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 125

their pre-conceived notions - a typically urban perception of the
rural problems - they formulate rural programmes on the basis of
their fixed mindset. Most of the VOs/NGOs begin their work based
upon the academic qualifications and training they have. For
example, the doctors would start with medical work by opening a
Dispensary or a Hospital. If one has an educational background,
she/he would start with opening a school. An engineer may begin
with some construction activity.

Most of these educated young people, who start rural work
through a VO/NGO have a sensitive but also impulsive urban mind.
Therefore, when they come across a villager suffering from some
pain or sickness, which normally is likely to be the case due to
poverty or malnutrition, they begin to pity them and fry to provide
some immediate temporary help - a humanitarian response indeed
but not based on objective reality.

Generally, the approach to rural work is not scientific and there
is no effort to study the problems of the villagers in depth and fry to
understand the genuine basic problems based on their felt-needs.
Our Indian approach of charity, knowingly or unknowingly, plays a
major role in the formulation of the programmes. Even if some sort
of a token attempt is made by some exceptional VO/NGO to first
study the conditions of the people, generally the feedback they
procure is more from the landed gentry and other well-to-do in the
village, not from the exploited and impoverished sections of the
rural society. Thus, the programme design is also biased in favour
of the upper class/caste people. Hence, the usual set of programmes
like education, health, housing, roads etc are undertaken, which are
more of a social orientation.

In reality, however, the core problems of the rural people are
more of an economic nature. They want livelihood or income
generation programmes which could provide them with work/
employment and a dignified remuneration on a continued regular
basis. This is rather difficult to organize and implement, requiring
substantial funds, infrastructure, raw material/ marketing and such
other support.

126 Suresh Suratwala

The normal tendency is, therefore, to spend money/ funds on
relief or providing some immediate facility or amenity to the
villagers. The villagers are also quite clever, in the sense that they
will never refuse the offer of any free material help while allowing
the VO/NGO workers to go on doing whatever is preferred by them.
This is the normal human tendency. This has been the widely
accepted practice of the Government agencies as well as the
VOs/NGOs since independence. The RWB-SDTT also is no
exception to this rule either. The same approach was adopted at
least in the beginning. The realization came later on, when the
initial enthusiasm and energies had been wasted on programmes
which have low priority, being easy to implement but having greater
publicity value.

In the final analysis, it must be appreciated and internalized by
all concerned - the rulers and the planners, the social workers and
the VOs/NGOs - that there is a wide divergence between the ‘Rural
Approach to the Rural Problems’ and the ‘Urban Approach to the
Rural Problems’"^°. The very premise of the ways and means the
rural people want to adopt to resolve their own basic problems is
different from those the urban people consider as being appropriate.
To state it rather crudely, the urban people want the rural people to
leave the village and migrate to the cities and towns, so that they
can get cheap labour force which they need, in ample measure, to
run their factories, trade, business services, homes and families. The
urban people are apparently not interested in the rural people
staying back in their villages and leading a comfortable life with
their families. Nor do they want agriculture and allied economic
activities to develop and flourish. They would rather have the rural
people come to cities and stay in slums as their cheap slaves.
Howsoever much the elite and the middle class social workers may

‘’°This formulation needs to be enriehed by bringing in the class, caste and
patriarchal dimensions of the society. Otherwise, even the ‘Rural Approach’ may
represent the vested interest of the landlords or local traders, not the landless
labourer or the small and the marginal farmers. - Ed.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 127

talk about rural development and the welfare of the rural people,
there is no genuine truth in it.

In the same vein, the educated rural people do not want to stay
back in the villages and work hard with the soil of the Mother Earth.
Instead, they, too, want to have white-collar parasitic jobs in the
cities, even if this implies living in filthy slums. In this sense, the
rural people have also lost their earlier values. The times have
drastically changed. There is hardly any genuine nationalism or
patriotism‘s* left amongst our people in sharp contrast to the
ambience before or soon after independence that inspired the youth
to serve the society. Broadly speaking, we want to use every
opportunity to exploit the country for our selfish interest, with
honourable exceptions notwithstanding This bitter truth, by and
large, marks our present society, irrespective of whether we are
willing to accept it or not.

Self-Critique: Engaging with Objeetive Reality

In this background, it must be honestly acknowledged that, in
the initial years, the RWB-SDTT also working on the flawed
premises, followed the same path and, knowingly or un-knowingly,
made the same mistakes which are typical of the community
development programmes prescribed in the Government Manuals or
NGO guidelines. These programmes, seemingly comprehensive and
integrated, lack the perspective of social transformation by building
a society based on equality and social justice. Consequently,
misconceived rural development programmes and welfare activities
gave a totally wrong direction to the whole Project from its
inception. Although, RWB did undertake an extensive programme
of Water Conservation through universal contour-bunding work in

Given the legaey of the freedom struggle which the author represents, ideas like
‘nationalism’ or ‘patriotism’ are not reduced to being abstract notions which can be
exploited on 26* January or 15* August each year for jingoistic minority bashing.
In contrast, these have concrete manifestations like working for village
development, teaching children, volunteering as helpers in hospitals, planting trees,
organizing libraries and cultural programmes, cleaning your locality and so on.

128 Suresh Suratwala

the nine villages, it somehow failed to realize the utmost vital
importance of water for the local peopleea. Undoubtedly, RWB also
made a belated attempt to focus its energies on the conservation,
utilization and management of water, but the focus on it was not
optimum. The required genuine focus on water as the prime
problem of the nine villages was lacking.

To be fair, it may be recorded that serious restrictions,
limitations and constraints operated on the RWB-SDTT because of
the inherent unfavourable nature of the top soil, underground black
rock, the Deccan Basalt, and the most uncertain and irregular
rainfall of the area. Therefore, it must be admitted that even today,
we have not been able to resolve the problem of water both for
drinking/domestic or irrigation purposes, on a sustainable basis.
Unless, through heavy capital investment or otherwise, we are able
to bring the required quantity of water from some external source to
the flat and high plateau of the Maan Taluka, it would not be
possible to sustainably solve the problem. This is not an easy job at
all. It calls for tremendous Political Will on the part of the rulers
and the local people. There is no doubt that if this problem of water
scarcity is resolved satisfactorily, then most of the other problems of
the Maan Taluka would also become easier to solve. Unfortunately,
we did not have this crucial realization in 1950s and 1960s when we
initiated the pioneering rural development project. The then political
rulers, too, failed to take long-term steps with firm commitment;
only lip service was provided. Yet, it would be entirely fair to
accord the full credit to the RWB-SDTT for whatever evidence of
development we see today in the nine villages (See Chapters 3 & 4
for details).

To reiterate. Rural Development must be based on the genuine
felt-needs of the villagers whose highest priority in the nine
villages, as we belatedly found out, was for economic programmes,
with the social programmes having relatively low priority. What the
villagers were looking for was neither School or Dispensary nor a
good House. What they really wanted was some skill, assets or

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 129

means of production, which could ensure for them livelihood with
dignity and a regular income all the year round. This is their
primary need whose critical significance we urban-oriented social
workers are unable to fathom. Clothing, housing, education, health
and leisure have a second order priority.

Let us take a concrete example of how we made blunders,
failing to correctly assess the real needs of the village people due to
our urban background, education and mindset. When we started our
work in the nine villages in the early 1950s, we, in our sheer
ignorance or naivete, thought that these villagers, doing hard
manual labour for the whole day, must have some common place
for recreation and relaxation. Based on this assumption, the RWB
constructed a huge Community Recreation Centre at one of the
central villages namely, Pulkoti, with multifarious recreation
facilities like (a) an open air theatre; (b) a gymnasium; (c) an indoor
game room; and (d) a library-cum-reading room. Accordingly, the
RWB made a substantial investment on this huge building which
further needed our sustained creative resources and energy to make
it an ideal show-piece. However, within a short period, we realized
that the villagers would use this facility rarely, though they
appreciated and praised it. As a result, the recreation centre soon
became an idle place since the villagers had no use for it at all.
They, including the women, were instead far more interested in
finding employment and accessing new sources of livelihood and
income generation.

Similarly, when we started a Medical Centre for these villages,
with all the modem facilities, equipment and qualified staff, the
villagers did appreciate the activities of the Centre but this, too, was
not their felt-need at all. They were used to getting treatment
through the traditional methods. Also, they would take the
medicines given by the doctor but very few consumed it for the
entire prescribed course, throwing away the medicines mid-course.
Normally, they would ask the doctor to give them an injection for
immediate relief, instead of the dmgs. The drags had to be

130 Suresh Suratwala

necessarily consumed for a certain minimum number of days which
was not a feasible proposition since they were all keen to return to
their work for wages. They had no time to wait because it was a
critical question of their bread and butter. If they do not go for
work for one or two days, the whole family would go hungry. They
had no other alternative means for survival.

The Family Planning Programme, started by the RWB at quite
an early stage of the Devapur Project, had the lowest priority for the
villagers. Ironically, for them, more children meant more hands to
work and more income. Children are their economic assets. They
start earning very early in their age, which is why they do not send
their children to the school also. We tried to motivate them and
talked to them about the larger national problem of our huge and
increasing population and limited resources of the country.
However, they contend that “for us, this is our family problem and
if you are not concerned about our family and its welfare, why
should we concerned about the country? Why should we resort to
the small family norm? If our family is small, our family income
also will be less. How can then we survive? Children and more
children are our assets. Since you do not give us other assets or
means of production like land, water, forest etc, we have no other
option but to use our children as our assets, so more children means
more income for us. Population problem may be your problem, but
it is not our problem. On the contrary it is beneficial to us. Who will
look after our goats and animals? Who will look after our little
siblings, when my wife goes for work? How can I send my children
to the school? Schools are not meant for us.”

During the long period of its association with the Devapur
Project, the programmes and activities of the RWB covered a wide
range - from the development of some of the basic natural resources
like land and water to social welfare activities like medical relief
and education. In its eagerness to improve the living conditions in
the villages, it tried out all types of ideas, without making any
proper assessment of the felt-needs of the people and without

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 131

deciding about the priorities. The RWB attempted to influence the
life of the villagers from all the angles - economic, social and
cultural. It undertook a large number of programmes and activities
simultaneously at one time, without realizing its own limitations in
terms of person-power and other material resources. All this was
done just because the local people wanted us to do, with the
objective of winning their confidence. But, in doing so, we failed to
provide the required leadership while implementing such rural
development programmes. In its desire to make programmes
‘Comprehensive and integrated’ as is generally done, the RWB, in
its initial enthusiasm and ignorance, tried to undertake too many
programmes and left them halfway due to certain basic difficulties it
encountered. Poultry Farming for individual villages as an income¬
generating livelihood activity and the Sisal Fibre Processing Unit on
a co-operative basis, without realizing the inherent problems of
organized marketing, could be cited as two telling examples of
failure.

Whether this approach was right or wrong, it is difficult to say
at this stage but in retrospect it is certain that the RWB
unnecessarily tried to do too many things, without a proper study
and planning. It would have been much wiser to focus attention on a
few priority programmes, rather than dissipating its resources and
energy on several programmes and activities. A striking example of
this mistake was that all the building and construction activities of
the Project like the school building, dispensary, staff quarters and
community centre were carried out by the specialist field workers
themselves departmentally instead of giving all the construction
activities to a building contractor on a contract basis. Thus, the
specialized professional skill and training of the field workers was
wasted in supervising various construction activities, for which they
were not trained. Unfortunately this realization came to the RWB
and its field workers rather very late, by which time the initial
enthusiasm was almost eroded and the initial co-operation and
participation of the villagers was also on a declining graph namely.

132 Suresh Suratwala

during the second phase of the 35-year period. The villagers, too, by
this time had become quite clever or shrewd. In addition, due to
external influence and also the emergence of political forces on
account of the advent of the Panchayati Raj, the finer human
qualities of the simple and forthright villagers, the fellow-feeling of
the families and the village community and desire to work hard in a
sincere and honest manner, gradually and steadily started to
disappear. The earlier village unity was missing. Various types of
groupism at all levels, based on selfish narrow considerations
started becoming active and powerful while also placing obstacles
or hurdles in the developmental process.

Development and Its Dilemma: The Way Forward

It has already been pointed out that the RWB programme in
the Devapur Project was plaimed and implemented entirely by its
field workers, living in the villages and working with the co¬
operation of the villagers (See Chapter 5). Although their number
was relatively small, they were directly involved in its execution.
Some of the major programmes were excavation and construction of
drinking water wells and construction of a school building in each
of the nine villages, plantation of agave and fhiit trees, development
and organization of poultry, provision of medical facilities, the
establishment of a Cattle Breeding Centre and Sisal Fibre Centre on
a co-operative basis.

It is certain that large financial investment, big buildings and
increased production and income alone do not add up to Rural
Development. The human being behind this developmental process
has the crucial role. How do we shape her/his mindset and outlook
toward life, family and the larger community is of far greater
importance than mere material progress. Financial resources of
course are required for basic infra-structural development but liberal
and easy availability of monetary resources is likely to have a
negative impact on the human being on whom the human society
fundamentally depends. Notably, we would like to caution that, in
the name of people’s co-operation and participation, it would

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 133

neither be a pragmatic nor a morally correct stance to go along
whatever the people say or want. Instead, it is our duty to provide a
mature leadership in all aspects for which wisdom and experience
are crucial.

The ultimate larger goal of the development programme,
particularly in the remote and deprived rural/ tribal areas, must be
elimination of (a) inequality; (b) exploitation and oppression; and
(c) building a new society based on equality and justice in the
social, economic, political and cultural spheres. If we apply these
parameters to the rural development work undertaken by the RWB
in the nine villages, in my humble opinion, it has certainly not
enabled the people to move in this direction. The rural development
work has, in general, increased the agricultural production and other
income too but only of a small section of society. The larger
majority of the oppressed sections have remained where they were
before the Devapur Project. These sections of society have to still
struggle for their bare survival. The villages may have been
provided with more and better facilities and amenities to make life
easier and comfortable for a small minority. The poverty of the
community might have been reduced marginally and a few of the
poor families may be enjoying a better life in terms of food, shelter,
clothing, education and health but a major share of all these gains
have been cornered by a small section of the society namely, the
upper classes/castes. In short, the basic structure and system of the
society has not changed, with inequality and injustice still
persisting!

As far as the impact of our work on the people’s mindset,
outlook and values is concerned, to the best of my knowledge, there
has been essentially no such positive transformation. On the
contrary, with improvement in the economic and the social
conditions of the people, the selfishness and narrow mindedness has
generally increased. The people have become more self-centred
than what they were before the Project. Earlier, when we started the
rural development work, the people were at least, in some measure.

134 Suresh Suratwala

thinking beyond the self and willing to make provision for others in
the village despite being impoverished. Presently, the village
people, by and large, do not seem to care about the other fellow
beings. Further, in order to achieve one’s self-interest, the people
have started using foul means. Formerly, there was some social fear
and the people were rather reluctant to put the wrong foot forward.
However, generally speaking, now the people pursue their personal
and, at best, only their family’s material development, at any cost
whatsoever while also cheating and/or exploiting others for one’s
narrow self-interest.

Thus, as a result of rural development work, neither has the
socio-economic system undergone progressive transformation nor
has the human beings changed for better. On the contrary, both the
system as well as the people have degenerated, degraded and
deteriorated. The earlier finer qualities of the human beings have
almost disappeared. There is hardly any fellow feeling left. The
people have become more and more individualistic. Earlier, when
we started working in the villages, there was extreme poverty but
the people had more humane attributes, being concerned about their
neighbours and the community. Today, the situation stands
reversed. The phase of extreme poverty is almost over in the Project
Villages and the people have more of everything but the human
qualities are diminishing with the people becoming more crooked
and manipulative. There was indeed material development but no
social transformation for a more equitable and socially just society.

I would like to submit that Development and Social
Transformation are two different processes. Development is
relatively easier while transformation is far more difficult. Change
in society demands certain amount of radicalism, commitment and
political will. If we are aiming at social change for creating a New
Society, development by only spending money is not enough;
indeed, it can be counter-productive. It needs radical change in the
socio-economic structure of the society through mass movements.
What we have done at Devapur and what most of the NGOs (to be

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 135

distinguished from Voluntary Organisations: See Introduction,
Footnote 19 to be read with Chapter 7, Footnote 42) also do is only
Functional Development, within the existing social structure. We
have not been able to bring about any fundamental changes in the
prevailing socio-economic framework, though there was definitely
significant material progress as reflected in the life style and the
standard of living of a small minority. Structural changes imply
change in the ownership pattern of the society’s Natural Resources
and also the means of production and wealth.

Clearly, our development work has not contributed to the
transformation of the human being or the society. On the contrary,
with material progress and more money in their hands, all types of
vices have increased. The increased income goes in spending on
police cases and court cases. We thought that education might help
to nurture human attributes among them and their attitudes and
outlook as well. But the 35-year long experiment of rural
development proved that we were wrong in our initial premise.
Instead of improving the humane attributes, education dragged them
in the reverse direction since it is used for advancing one’s selfish
interest, rather than for the well-being of the community or the
society. Therefore, education is not the solution for structural
change in the society unless the present education system is
radically transformed in consonance with the Constitutional
imperatives (However, for an alternative, read Albert Einstain’s
views on transformative education in the Introduction, p. 40-41).

136 Suresh Suratwala

THE ROLE OF VOs vs. NGOs^^
IN RURAL DEVELOPMENT

O n the basis of my grass-roots experience, I can say that the role
of Voluntary Organizations (VOs) in the development work is
severely restricted and subject to various limitations. Such
organisations can play the role of only Functional Development,
within the existing structure of the society and the prevailing socio¬
economic system defined by the hegemony of class, caste, creed
and patriarchy. They cannot transform the given socio-economic
and political structure. A VO can certainly help the poor marginally
in their welfare. Flowever, it cannot change the ownership pattern of
the land and other natural resources in the country. Flence, even
after carrying out Functional Development work for prolonged
periods, the social structure and the socio-economic and the
political system remain unchanged.

Secondly, the VO sector may improve the social and economic
conditions of the people to a certain extent through its development
programme. Yet, it cannot bring about any fundamental change in
the values, attitudes and behaviour of the people. This realisation is
painful to a person like me who committed himself for 35 years to

elaborated in the Introduction (see Footnote 19 for detailed explanation), the
term NGO shall not be used here henceforth unless required by the economic and
political context. The author of the book is clearly referring to the Voluntary
Organisations (VOs), as a legacy of the Freedom Struggle. Unlike NGO, a
Voluntary Organisation (VO) has a mission of its own and is either an organic part
of a social movement or rooted in a group dedicated to a socio-political cause. In
contrast, NGO is a phenomenon of neo-liberal capitalism, conceived and designed
to promote the interest of the neo-liberal economic order, even if it is deleterious to
our society and the country. - Ed.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 137

the cause of uplifting the quality of life of the people in nine
villages.

Thirdly, at my personal level, I must honestly admit that the
courses for professional social workers or the so-called training
given in Applied Social Sciences, both at the national as well as the
international level, is not useful for the grass-roots work in the rural
areas. Whatever is taught at such institutions is alienated from the
reality and that, too, borrowed from the western countries. Hence, it
does not serve any practical purpose. We have to un-leam first what
we learn from the textbooks and then to re-leam from the people by
living and working with them. This is the core lesson drawn from
the dynamics of the rural society. This realisation leads us to
question the very role such elite high-profile institutions have been
playing at public cost since independence.

Fourthly, we must also keep in mind that the national,
international and global conditions are rapidly undergoing change.
The people’s mindset is also changing. Hence, we must learn to
move with the times. Our experience should not be taken as
sacrosanct; instead, what is crucial is to understand the spirit behind
it. The social dynamics of the rural society is continuously changing
under the influence of industrialization, urbanization, materialism,
consumerism and also introduction of scientific and technological
changes"^^. Therefore, in the field of rural developmenf, atfempfs
musf invariably be made fo evolve new approaches and adopt
innovative ideas with a fresh mind to engage with the problems the
rural society. At the same time, the focus on the central goal of
bringing about equitable, just and sustainable development and a
change based on ethical values must in no case be compromised.

Fifthly, our rural development problems are linked to the
global policies of the IMF, World Bank and WTO, operating under

Introduction, Footnote 20 which refers to the dangerous anti-civilisational
implications of digitalisation of human society, a technological development which
was just taking roots in the rural areas when the author was about to complete his
manuscript in 2006. Otherwise, the author would have certainly made a reference to
this phenomenon as well. - Ed.

138 Suresh Suratwala

the control of USA. Unless the VOs of the country come together,
we shall not be able to make any dent in their stranglehold over the
poor and developing countries like ours. Hence, let each and every
VO undergo a process of self-introspection and explore ways and
means to come together to give a common united fight to the forces
of neo-liberal capitalism for the sake of the majority of our
marginalized people. If this united struggle is not waged, the status-
quo will continue.

Finally, in our country, we have a long tradition of a large
number of well-intentioned VOs doing good work but typically
functioning in isolation of each other. Each VO is keen to carry
forward one's own programme independently and demonstrate their
superiority over others. Apparently, it is each VO's organisational
ego that prevents them from coming together. It is likely that, along
with the organisational ego, the difference at ideological or strategic
level may also come in the way of collective action. The truth may
lie somewhere in between. Our ultimate destination presumably
may be the same but, instead of walking together on a common
path, we all end up going in different, if not even contradictory,
directions. Be as it may, a way out of this suicidal trap must be
found on a priority basis.

In the absence of united and concerted effort, the VOs have not
been able to make any substantive impact at the macro-level on the
national policies or politics. I would, therefore, make an earnest
appeal to all the VOs and their various federations and alliances to
unite and come together under one single banner, with firm
commitment to constitute a common Non-party Political Forum.
Advocacy on certain common causes by the VOs from such a
common platform could have a long-lasting impact on at least some
of the basic issues. Such a Non-party Political Forum could
persuade or compel the Government to formulate and implement
developmental policies in consonance with the Constitution. Let us
learn to walk together for a common purpose. The crying need of
the hour is to evolve a common radical programme of socio¬
economic transformation through a broad-based all-India common
Non-party Political Forum.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 139

LESSONS TO LEARN

I n the earlier chapters, I have presented in detail the information
and the relevant data with respect to the various Rural
Development Programmes undertaken in the Devapur Project,
including their achievements and failure, problems and difficulties
encountered and the conclusions arrived at by me and our field
workers collectively. Based upon our performance and experience, I
have discussed the mistakes committed by us in planning
programmes and identifying our priorities. Further, I have also
attempted to show how the material and socio-economic conditions
of the people of the nine villages, selected by us, changed and
improved substantially.

In retrospect, I would try and present our views, based upon
the sustained experience of 35 years at the grass-roots level, living
and working with the village people in a remote, economically
backward and drought-prone neglected area. The broad conclusions
drawn by us in the perspective of human development of the rural
society, not just material development, shall also be placed here for
consideration of the vast Voluntary Organisation (VO) sector
operating across the country. One may agree or disagree and accept
or reject these conclusions but it is our sincere duty to share with the
readers our free, frank and honest views and experiences of rural
development along with the objective assessment of our work as
elaborated in the earlier chapters. This analysis is particularly
addressed to the rural workers who are presently engaged in rural
development and also those from the new generation who are
planning to get involved.

140 Suresh Suratwala

1. The rural development work in a restricted area at the micro¬
level, howsoever intensive, comprehensive or integrated it
may be, does not prove to be effective in bringing about
fundamental changes in the structure of the rural society,
without concurrent macro-level policy support aimed at
certain basic changes in the social-economic framework and,
if necessitated, through accompanying Constitutional
amendments too. Unless some radical structural changes, as
understood in the social science, are concomitantly brought
about, no amount of the so-called rural development work
would help us to create a social order based on equality and
social justice and free of discrimination. Without ensuring
such mutually supportive socio-political conditions at macro¬
level, the status-quo continues and, at best, only an idealised
model like an 'Oasis in the Deserf is created, which does not
support the marginalized majority. Ironically, it enables the
upper classes and upper castes to enhance their capacity to
further exploit and deprive the oppressed classes/castes.
However, for us it has been an introspective process of un¬
learning or re-leaming the otherwise widely debated norms
about rural development.

2. There is close, vital and subtle relationship between the
diverse history, geography, culture, traditions and beliefs of
the people, on the one hand, and the prevailing political and
Constitutional system and the governance in which rural
development work is carried out, on the other hand. A rural
worker has to consciously and critically take into
consideration the socio-political process holistically - its
currents and under-currents operating within the society. It is
not possible to operate effectively if one keeps oneself
isolated from the prevailing social forces and does not take
the above factors into consideration. It is also mandatory to
take into account the norms and practices of the
contemporary society, namely, the concepts like Individual

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 141

Freedom, Civil Liberty, Socio-economic Equality, Social
Justice, Ethical and Moral Values and others which
constitute the vital pillars of the process of development and
must not be either ignored or neglected.

3. The question of land ownership pattern in rural society i.e.
the relations between the landlords and labourers as well as
the issue of the incremental corporate ownership, if not even
monopoly, over all other natural resources like water, forests
and minerals, have crucial implications for rural development
However, in Functional Planning, as taught in rural
development courses, these crucial issues are not taken into
account and rural development is carried out not only within
the prevailing socio-economic framework but also to
reinforce it as well. Consequently, the rich become richer and
the poor become poorer, thereby increasing inequality.
Hence, our submission: poverty is not the basic problem but
inequality in ownership pattern of the natural resources is
the fundamental problem [emphasis mine]"^"*.

4. While undertaking rural development work in any part of the
country, the basic nature and characteristics of the
agricultural and allied activities, namely, the long gestation
period of 6 months between sowing and harvesting
operations and, therefore, of receiving cash income in hand is
to be recognised and taken into consideration. This is a
fundamental difference between agriculture, on the one hand,
and industry, trade or services, on the other, the income in
the latter case being essentially immediate. This is a critical
issue for the rural people. How does a farmer (and her/his
dependents) survive till she/he gets the return from the
harvest?

“’"'For a detailed elaboration of this basic principle, please see the author's
Monograph entitled, 'Real Economic Problems of India: Inequality Not Poverty,
Unemployment Not Growth', 2016. See Epilogue for data on increasing inequality
in the Indian society as well as globally (pp. 168-170). - Ed.

142 Suresh Suratwala

In the villages, there is a traditional system of economic
relationship according to which the landless people who
serve the farmers are dependent on farmers for their
livelihood. The carpenters, blacksmiths, barbers, washermen,
cobblers and landless labourers, essentially belonging to the
oppressed castes, get a small share of the yield of the farmers
for their services rendered during the previous year.
Naturally, this serving community also has to wait till the
harvest. At the same time, the impact of the long gestation
period would be far more adverse on the artisans and the rest
of the landless than on the land-owning farmers due to the
inherent inequality between the two sections of the rural
society.

5. Furthermore, the unfortunate cruel part is that, after putting
in hard work on the way to the point of final agricultural
product, the market and prices of the produce are not in the
hands of the producer i.e. the farmer. The seller i.e. the
farmer cannot decide or quote the price of her/his produce in
the market. It is the traders and buyers who decide the price
and the farmer has to sell the agricultural produce under
compulsion at the buyer’s quoted price and even the mode
and timing of the payment. In contrast, in the case of
industry, trade or services, the price of the product as well as
the mode of payment is determined by the

manufacturer/trader/service provider and not the buyer. This
is gross injustice. Why is the farmer not allowed to decide
the price of her/his product, taking into consideration all the
input costs plus labour charges (either one's own or the hired
labour) along with reasonable profit, just as the industrialists,
the traders or the service providers are legally allowed to
dictate the price of their product? This is one of the crucial
issues of rural development, which has been sidelined by the
planners as well as the practitioners like us since
independence, in blatant violation of the Constitutional

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 143

provisions namely, Articles 15(1) and 38(2). Until and
unless, such basic policy issues are not settled, no amount of
rural development would resolve the prevailing rural crisis -
a direct consequence of the increasing disparity between the
cities and villages due to the pricing policies deliberately
favouring the urban-based industry, trade and the service
sector while blatantly discriminating against the rural-based
agricultural and artisanal production as well as other multiple
productive activities undertaken by the landless labour.

6. Apart from the unjust pricing policy, the Government
policies also have a crucial role in sustaining the economic
activities undertaken in rural development. The villagers lack
resources and time for experimentation. They cannot be
treated as entrepreneurs. Village industries/cottage industries
need the support of the government for their smooth and
continuous operations. Despite the full support of a VO, the
experiment of economic activity can fail due to either lack of
a policy or an unfavourable change therein"*^. The nature, too,
would pose an unpredictable risk to farming and all allied
activities.

7. The real yard stick of rural development is neither the
construction of various buildings, roads and utilities or
increase in agricultural production and income nor providing
more welfare amenities. Admittedly, these are visible and
measurable changes and are certainly required but the
ultimate goal of rural development must not be reduced
merely to such material and economic improvements. It has
to go beyond and include moulding of the mindsets and
human values of each member of the family, village
community and the nation. More significantly, there is the

Chapter 3, Sections 3.1.12 on how the lack of an appropriate policy support
led to the collapse of a Cotton Ginning Co-operative Society of cotton growers and
its Ginning Factory and Section 3.1.13 for an alternative marketing model operating
in the voluntary sector successfully without policy support. - Ed.

144 Suresh Suratwala

question of human and social development which calls for
increased community consciousness and fellow feeling. The
human being must undergo transformation, the human values
must prevail, and the finer qualities of fellow feeling must
grow. We must strive to create a New Society with new
human relationships, inculcating an urge to help each other
unselfishly, sacrifice individual good for the community’s
well being, hard work in co-operation with each other and
strengthening social harmony. Inevitably, creation of such a
New Society can happen only by annihilating the hegemony
of class, caste, creed, race, patriarchy, languages, birth place
and the 'normal' body"*^. These should be the yard sticks of
rural development. On the contrary, even after sustained rural
work in Devapur Block, the community stands divided, the
conflicts have increased and there are more cases in the
police stations and the courts while the inter-family feuds for
petty selfish interests have exacerbated.G27

8. Is this the development that inspired us? Or, the criterion
should be how many of the finer human qualities stand
incorporated through rural development!

In conclusion, please note that it is not my desire or intention
to give you any advice on how to work in India's villages. Given the
immense diversity of India, it would be foolhardy on my part even
to think of undertaking such an impossible exercise. It is entirely for
you to decide as to how to approach rural work. You are the best
judge of the problems you would be engaged with. I only wished to
share some of the lessons drawn by me from my grassroots
experience. This is my duty towards the youth aspiring to take up
rural development work. I readily grant the possibility that the
lessons I have reported here may be partially or entirely

‘’"This assertion takes cue from the central logic of Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar's
historic essay entitled, Annihilation of Caste, 1936 (For this essay’s weblink, see
Introduction, Footnote 12). - Ed.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 145

misconceived. As Gautam Buddha stated: "Examine all ideas
critically, irrespective of the source, and accept only those which
make sense to you or appear to be logical." These lessons or
suggestions may help you to propose a hypothesis and then either
rule it out or confirm it on the basis of your experience. This would
be a rational approach, free of misconceptions, prejudices and blind
spots. Invariably, the TRUTH {Satyd) is bitter. We have no option
but to engage with it and reject it if it turns out to be false. My only
hope is that, given your rational pursuit of the TRUTH, you would
commit new errors on the way, rather than repeating mine. By
doing this, you would add to human knowledge and wisdom.
Ultimately, you shall be entirely responsible for exploring and
arriving at your own TRUTH!

146 Suresh Suratwala

SOME GUIDELINES FOR RURAL WORK

B ased on my grassroots experience as the coordinator of RWB-
SDTT Project in Devapur Block, I would like to share some of
my suggestions which may be viewed as broad guidelines for those
young people who are either already engaged in Rural Development
or are planning to undertake this challenge. In my opinion, our
experiences have a specific relevance since these are based on the
work carried out in a group of drought-prone nine villages located
in a typical watershed area. Yet, what follows below are the general
conclusions drawn in the larger context of Development and Social
Change in India’s rural society from the standpoint of the national
policies as well as the VOs, while also keeping in view the
international context. I consider it as my duty to share our free,
frank, sincere and honest views and also our assessment based on
the experiences at the micro-level with the younger generation.

1. In a broad sense, rural development work is primarily an
educational process of learning and awareness building, both
for the people and the worker. Rural development work, in a
wider sense, may be considered as a process of community
education. Community Development is also a process of
creating community consciousness. The rural worker is,
therefore, expected to provide healthy and honest leadership to
the people, if the work has to be effective in terms of change in
people’s outlook and attitudes. However, if one wants to do
genuine development of the community, through honest and
sincere work, one must be willing and ready to displease some

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 147

of the people. One cannot always do well of the people just by
pleasing them all the time. This is the paradox of development
work, in the present political system of democracy based on
the adult franchise. You may not be able to do their real good,
if you are always trying to please them to get their vote. Even
the non-political rural worker does not want to displease his
people, because he wants their co-operation and participation
in the programme and, therefore, the two objectives do not go
together. For example. Family Planning work is a crucial
programme for the good of the people but people do not want
it. The real test of the leadership is when such programmes are
to be undertaken even as the prevailing political system comes
in the way of genuine work.

2. The behaviour and life style of the rural worker must be
transparent, honest, forthright, hard-working such that the local
people could emulate in their own life. Practicing what one
preaches is crucial in rural work. A rural worker could make
good of the lives of the people as well as one’s own life by
her/his style of functioning and approach to the people. All
these small issues, howsoever minor they may appear to be, do
matter significantly in the lives of the people. One has to be
very careful in all of her/his dealings with the village people,
outsiders and Government officials. If her/his image amongst
the people is not good, she/he will not be able to win their
confidence nor will be able to establish a healthy rapport with
them.

3. The next lesson which I learnt from our experience is that if
you want to serve the village people well and make them good
human beings, you should not take any obligation from them,
not even a cup of tea! You should not lose your freedom to
share any idea with them forthrightly or even take any action
against them, if the situation calls for such a stand. Yet, your
approach ought to be flexible and accommodative but no
compromise or adjustment should be made on matters of

148 Suresh Suratwala

principles. You should be compassionate and affectionate
towards people but it should not result in charity or pity. While
being helpful and reasonable, one should be impartial and treat
everyone equally. It is important that you do not develop
personal relationship or enter into private dealings with the
people. Being sincere and honest in all of your dealings with
the people is the best policy. Today, even the famers have
become clever and even selfish.

4. The real test of a good rural worker is how far she/he is able to
maintain a proper balance in the matter of identifying oneself
with the local people. If you want to work with a community
honestly and unselfishly, you musf fry fo identify yourself with
the entire community - rich and poor alike and, to the extent
possible, with all section of the society - men and women,
young and old alike. At the same time, you must maintain a
certain distance and be firm and sfricf, as and when necessary.
It would be best to avoid any monetary dealing with the people
you plan to work with. Try to avoid owning any movable or
immovable property for yourself or your family in the area of
your operation. This is one of the most delicate and difficult
job but one must follow it.

5. In your daily routine work, you must try to help and interact
with everybody in your operational area in all possible ways
and co-operate with the whole community but do not make
them dependent on you. Let them take their decisions, let them
take initiative and do things on their own with their own
resources fully, fo fhe exfent possible, under your advice,
guidance and wafchful eyes. They musf respecf you nof only
emotionally buf also based upon your reasoning and
knowledge while also ensuring fhaf they do not indulge in
hero-worshipping you. While maintaining your freedom, you
may nurture cordial and harmonious relations with the people.

6. It is a wise policy not to start giving any material help to the
people free of cost howsoever poor or desperate the concerned

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 149

individual, family or the community may be. Let them also put
in their share or might and contribute substantially either in
cash, kind or labour, not just as a token but real genuine
contribution, with proper understanding and willingness but
without any compulsion whatsoever. Let them realise that
whatever they have done, produced or created, belongs to
them. A sense of collective belonging and a stake in whatever
they build or produce is key to meaningful and sustainable
rural development.

7. While planning and implementing development or welfare
programmes, we should be careful in not trying to thrust our
urban ideas on the people. We should encourage the local
people to articulate their genuine felt-needs, take initiative and
decide collectively through consensus. Implementation of their
decision should be on a co-operative basis, seeking active
participation through mutual adjustment of the widest possible
section of the community. Our role should be that of a
facilitator, a catalyst and an enabler. We must be able to listen
to all what they want to say, patiently, encouraging free and
frank discussion and ensuring decisions in larger interest of all.
While guiding a discussion, try to explain both the positive and
the negative aspects of the issue, so that a common solution
acceptable to all is arrived at. If a discussion is moving in an
unhealthy direction, your duty is to make them aware of the
pitfalls, with all the firmness and sincerity at your command.
Be on your guard that neither they get away by fooling you nor
should you ever try to do the same with them.

8. In every village community, there are always some healthy and
unhealthy elements. While working with them, one must try to
engage with them tactfully. Do not displease the unhealthy
elements beyond a point. While not relying on hearsay or
second hand reports, you must evolve methods to objectively
examine and check every case on its merits, ft is best not to
antagonize any particular group since no one knows when they

150 Suresh Suratwala

will change sides. Maintaining a safe distance from both the
helpful and the unhelpful groups is good policy since this
enables you to take your own decisions in the optimum interest
of all. All information and data being given to you needs to be
cross-checked carefully before you start acting upon them.
You need not be in haste to express your opinion or react on
the spot. Take your time, deliberate, try and obtain confidential
information from reliable sources and have double-check,
before taking the next step. Listening and understanding
different views and explaining your point of view frankly but
without forcing it, will help you build a consensus in the
community.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 151

INTROSPECTION ON SOME BASIC
QUESTIONS

Whither Development? Whither Society?

T he earlier chapters establish how I lived and worked for Rural
Development for about 35 years continuously at the grass-roots
level (in drought prone area of the State of Maharashtra), supported
by one single funding agency which gave me all the required
freedom to plan and implement various rural development
programmes, with support from a ‘Team of Subject Matter
Specialists’. It is now expected that some vital and fundamental
questions, perhaps of a general nature and in the larger context of
the whole country, are bound to arise. I am keen to share with you
these questions which have been agitating my mind for quite some
time, in the hope that these might be of relevance to those of you
who may make it possible to locate the crucial answers.

When we settle down in a specific rural area with the objective
of undertaking some development work with the co-operation and
participation of the local people, we also try to identify ourselves
with their aspirations and put in our best of efforts. Therefore, we
expect to derive some inner satisfaction despite encountering
problems, obstacles and even some failures and disappointments. I
humbly wish to record here that, in spite of my sincere and hard
work, I could not derive the much-expected inner satisfaction.

Let me try to explain this paradox. Our intentions and
objectives were never limited to just bringing about material
development of the people or to merely improve their socio-

152 Suresh Suratwala

economic conditions. Along with material and economic
development, which we certainly did achieve to a fairly large
extent, our goal was also to transform the quality of life, instil
human values and improve social relationships. We were keen that,
with improving material and economic conditions, the people would
retain, if not even further enrich, their finer human sensitivities and
values which they had in ample measure before we started our
work in 1955. As reported earlier, while we found the local people
to be, by and large, impoverished and without any support system,
they were definitely ethically rich, having finer sensitivities for each
other. Undoubtedly, they were better human beings, with greater
mutual fellow-feeling and concern among them. Presently, the
scenario stands completely changed. Our evaluation reports, backed
up with statistics, establish that, on the whole, they are
comparatively having a much more comfortable life than before,
enjoying good food, clothing, shelter, employment and livelihood
and better educational and health facilities and other amenities
along with the modem means of transport, recreation and comforts.
However, to my great shock, disappointment and frustration, I find
that, in the race for material and economic development, we have
lost the good old human being of the drought-prone impoverished
Devapur Project villages. In the process, the people have become
far more selfish, greedy and individualistic, leading to loss of
fellow-feeling and sense of mutual co-operation. There are more
vices, increased quarrels within the family as well as the
community, instigated by petty jealousies and conflicts. There are
more crimes and more cases registered at the police stations and in
the courts and, therefore, several-fold more lawyers to deal with
them. The local people are invariably under stress, not only the first
generation but also the next generation, despite the so-called better
'education' and other amenities. Ironically, through our efforts and
SDTT’s funds, we managed to provide the Devapur Project area
people with all possible sources of prosperity but this prosperity led
to loss of the finer human qualifies, happiness and a life of

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 153

satisfaction. Hence, my question: Why is it that the impoverished
human being has finer human sensitivities and social consciousness
than when she/he becomes prosperous with access to amenities and
comforts? Why do the finer qualities of a human being get eroded
during her/his material and economic improvement?

I have discussed the above issue of my inner dissatisfaction
and growing frustration in relation to my rural development
experience with several learned and reputed persons but all of them
maintained that this is a very common problem, with no meaningful
answer. Several people have tried to resolve this problem in
different ways, e.g. through education, through religion or through
cultural activities but the experience remains the same.

And, therefore, the next logical question: If it is so, then why
do we pursue the so-called progress and development and for what
purpose? Why do we try to improve the material conditions of
people, if we cannot make them happy? Such questions may appear
to be philosophical and not of any practical use but the fact remains
that these do address the larger issue of how do we influence human
consciousness which in turn determines outlook, attitudes and,
finally, human behaviour, irrespective of the material and economic
conditions. What is then the solution, if, at all, there is one? With
the help of money, material and manpower, it is easier to achieve
the so-called development and progress and improve the material
and economic conditions but I do not know how to sensitise the
human being? How does one ensure that we do not become more
selfish, accept vices, become jealous or get involved in conflicts, to
the detriment of humankind? Is it only because of materialism,
consumerism, urbanization, modernization and industrialization^?
Is it also because of the very nature of science and technology or is
it because of the misuse that we make of Science and Technology?

noted in Chapter 7 (Footnote 43), digitalisation would have been certainly
listed here by the author but for the fact that the ill-effects of digitalization (see
Introduction, Footnote 20 for the ill-effects) were not apparent in sufficient measure
in 2006 when the manuscript was completed. - Ed.

154 Suresh Suratwala

I am well aware that the issue being raised by me is a complex
one, involving various social, cultural, political and economic forces
within the society but there must be some rational way to resolve it.
Furthermore, this is not the end of the problem.

We tend to argue that education could provide a
solution. The general adage holds that if the person is
illiterate and un-educated, she/he must be first
provided education. But, does education really
transform the human being into becoming a better
human being? This question leads to my next big
question. My observation tells me that the more an
individual is 'educated', the more skills she/he
acquires to manipulate, exploit and oppress others. A
formally 'educated' person is less inclined to help
others than otherwise. 'Educated' persons generally
tend to be more self-centred, sectarian and
manipulative than illiterate and poor but hard¬
working persons. Just as Science and Technology is a
double-edged knife, education is similarly a double-
edged tool, which can be used to do good or to harm
the society. Why then educate the people?

Why does a poor, uneducated and illiterate person reveals
vices as soon as her/his material and economic condition improves
and/or she/he gets the so-called 'benefit' of education following
which her/his tendencies to help others diminish rapidly. Generally
speaking, a person, whether an upper caste or a SC/ST/OBC or
suffering from any other deprivation, gets an opportunity by gaining
a higher position in society, she/he is more than likely to use her/his
knowledge and skills to exploit not only others but her/his own
brethren, too. What then is the sociology and/or psychology that
operates behind this phenomenon? These are some of my
fundamental questions whose answers 1 am seeking.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 155

Under such discouraging and frustrating conditions, I am left
with no option but to ask what then is the role of Voluntary
Organizations (VOs) in development, particularly in the rural
areas? Are they in a position to bring about the change in human
society, as visualized by us? Are they capable of ensuring that
people retain their human sensitivity and fellow-feeling, even after
achieving material and economic progress? Can the VOs play a
constructive role to ensure transformation into a happier society,
improved material and economic conditions notwithstanding? Or,
are they only expected to bring about physical, material and
economic development, not human development? In this discussion,
I would prefer to clearly differentiate between DEVELOPMENT/
PROGRESS, on the one hand, and TRANSEORMA TION, on the
other.

It is generally understood that the Government and its various
Development Agencies are not at all in a position to bring about or
even think of bringing about a genuine change and/or
transformation amongst the people and communities. Therefore, the
role of bringing about this kind of transformation is left to the VOs.
However, as pointed out in Chapter 7, the VOs work in rural areas,
under severe limitations and constraints. Significantly, the structure
of the society, the socio-economic framework, the political and
cultural set-up is a given factor for them and they are expected to do
only Functional Development work, which, too, is further limited
by the lack of adequate finance, infra-structure and manpower.
Therefore, my humble opinion is that the VOs are not in a position
to bring about any basic or fundamental transformation in the
society or even inculcate human sensitivity and fellow feeling
among the people. They are only meant to carry out patch work here
and there i.e. only Functional Development, despite the fact that
some of them may be fully committed to bring about fundamental

order to appreciate the reason for using the term Voluntary Organisations (VOs)
here and not Non-Govemment Organisations (NGOs), please see Footnote 19 in
Introduction to be read with Footnote 42 in Chapter VII. - Ed.

156 Suresh Suratwala

transformation in the structure of the society. Since such a
fundamental transformation is an outright political question, most of
the VOs, with honourable exceptions apart, are not in a position to
engage with it. If and when, they do so, they are immediately
labelled by the state as anti-nationals, radical leftists and even as
naxalites"*^. Realising this political reality, even the genuine VOs
committed to bringing about fundamental transformations in society
do not express their views and end up making the required
adjustments and compromises for their survival.

This then sums up the paradox. In an unequal society
like ours, 'development' would only increase and
deepen inequality, leading to further concentration of
wealth and the means of production accelerating
exploitation and impoverishment. Clearly, inequality
is India's basic socio-economic problem, not
poverty^'’. Under these conditions, it would be wise for
the state to change the socio-economic structure
through radical land reforms, fixing both the minimum
wages and maximum incomes and similarly minimum
and maximum assets, all of which would need to be
backed by appropriate Constitutional amendments,
thereby making the required statutory provisions
possible. It is only after such fundamental
transformations are brought about that the
commitment, the energies, the abilities and the skills of
the VOs would be better utilised for building a humane
society. This alone would ensure a march towards a
truly democratic India founded on equality, justice,
liberty and fraternity, as per the principles enshrined in
the Constitution.

"'^During the past 5 years of NDA-II rule, a new term i.e. 'Urban Naxals', has been
invented by the government to discredit the genuine VOs along with their
democratic and patriotic activists and intellectuals. - Ed.

^°See Chapter 8, Footnote 44 for reference to the author's Monograph for a detailed
elaboration of this principle. - Ed.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 157

Addressing the Readers: My Agonising Qnestion(s), Seeking
Your Answer(s)

As I have mentioned earlier, about 50 years ago, the people of
the drought-prone Maan Taluka, where Sir Dorabji Tata Trust
worked for rural development, were severely impoverished. There
was misery all-round, with no drinking water during summer, no
roads, no electricity and no means of communication. Even after
working hard the whole day, they were unable to get two proper
meals. They had no proper shelter, and no educational or medical
facilities. Under these conditions, most of the people had to go
hungry or migrate to the Konkan region for about 6 months along
with the entire family, in search of work, water and fodder for their
animals.

However, on the whole, the majority of the people were simple
and straight forward. There was sincerity and honesty. People were
not crooked or selfish. They were humane and willing to help each
others. Sharing whatever little they had with their neighbours or
guests, was a normal social practice. Although not educated in
formal terms, they were highly cultured. They did not know much
about the outside world but they had human sensitivity towards
others. They could not read or write but they were united and
infused with wisdom.

During the past 50 years, various types of Government
agencies and several Voluntary Organizations, including the Sir
Dorabji Tata Trust, worked for the development and progress of
these people by spending huge funds. As a result, the economic
conditions of the people improved and there is significant material
progress. The agricultural production increased in quantity &
variety. Instead of the then usual cereal crops like Bajri, Maize and
Jawar, they are now also taking cash crops like cotton, groundnut,
onion, sugarcane and pomegranate, which ensure them higher
income in cash. Dairy, sheep and goats, as subsidiary activities, also
give an added income. In shorl, there is definite improvement in the
living standards and even prosperity. Besides, all other facilities and

158 Suresh Suratwala

amenities like education, health, transport, and communication have
significantly improved. There are better roads, with the State
Transport buses plying every few hours. The electric power and the
telephone services are easily available in each house. The people
have pucca (cemented) houses in place of the old huts. The
consumable items in the homes have increased tremendously. Many
of the families have motor-cycles of their own. In short, they have
more of everything in terms of material and economic prosperity.

However, there is hardly any happiness or self-satisfaction.
Unity and fellow-feeling have been eroded along with the loss of
finer human qualities. Internal feuds and conflicts within the family
and the village are common features. Petty politics has fuelled
multiple quarrels among several groups for selfish gains. The
former willingness to help each other stands replaced by all round
selfishness. Various kinds of vices like drinking, gambling and
opium addiction have spread beyond reasonable limits. In every
family, young and old, men and women all are in some way or the
other involved in such vices. When the Trust started work five
decades ago, there were hardly 5 to 10 lawyers in the whole Maan
Taluka. Today, more than 50 to 75 lawyers are flourishing, at the
cost of the villagers. There is hardly any desire left to work in co¬
operation with each other. People have, by and large, learnt to
achieve one's petty objectives by any means, crooked or otherwise.

Hence, the crucial question: Why is it so? Why do the finer
qualifies of a human being prevail under poverty, siress, misery,
disease and suffering? Why does a person fend lo become selfish,
corrupl, cruel, dishonesi and insincere, under Ihe conditions of
prosperity, when she/he has more to eat and more to lead a
comfortable life? This is a million dollar question agitating my
inner self, after having worked hard af the grass-roots with the
people for 35 years in adverse conditions.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 159

There is universal praise for all the good work I did with
the help of Sir Dorabji Tata Trust, by quitting the city of
Mumbai (then Bombay) at the age of 25 years and
working with the people for the next 35 years for their
betterment, in a backward area. However, this does not
satisfy me at all. As a student of social science, I have
introspected over the afore-mentioned issues deeply for
the last 15 years but I have not been able to find any
meaningful answer. 1 had no infenfion fo wrife such a
book on my experience for fhe sake of publicify. If is only
because 1 have nof been able fo find any answers fo my
agonising quesfions and my painful suffering from wifhin
fhaf 1 decided to put down my views in the form of a book,
in the hope that my readers will try to help me in finding
an answer that makes logical sense. Here is the pointed
question that agonises me: After obtaining higher
education in social science and applying the knowledge
by working sincerely with the people, have I done well of
the people or have I led them to more misery and
suffering? Why does poverty bring out good qualities of
a human being and why do they disappear when she/he
is better off when the material conditions improve?

Why does such a paradoxical transformation take place?

This indeed is a complex situation with multi-dimensional
issues interwoven into each other and related to economic, political,
social, and ethical questions, calling for an integrated approach in
order to arrive at a credible resolution. 1 have raised several similar
questions in the previous pages. In the larger context, 1 try to
summarize these questions into the following four categories.

Economic Questions

1. The process of development in an unequal society, willingly
or unwillingly, leads to increase in inequality. The gap

160 Suresh Suratwala

between the rich and the poor widens. Why is it so and what
can be done to prevent or mitigate it?

2. One solution appears to be equitable distribution of the
natural resources and means of production like land and
water, as directed by the Constitution in Articles 39(b) and
39(c) respectively. But how could it be done?

3. In the field of social science, two types of planning, namely
Structural Planning and Functional Planning have been
recognized. But what we generally do and what I did for 35
years is only the Functional Planning without bringing about
any change in the structure of the society. I now know that
real change is not possible without basic and fundamental
changes in the social structure - the socio-economic
framework of the society. The core question is how to bring
about changes in the structure of the society?

4. Economic development invariably leads to consumerism in
the rural areas also. This alienates the people from the
movement for social transformation. How do we prevent or
minimise consumerism?

Political Questions

5. We need to focus upon the problem of organizing the masses
in the rural areas, particularly the agricultural labourers, into
an effective and sustainable mass movement for (a) short
term gains and benefits; and (b) long term goal of creating a
new society. What strategy needs to be adopted in order to
meet both the objectives?

6. The next important and vital question is of uniting and
bringing together all Voluntary Organizations (VOs) and
social activists of the country on one Non-party Political
Platform, so that wider policy changes on macro-issue could
be effected at national and international levels.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 161

7. The experience of the present democratic system of the
Government as evolved by our rulers during the last 70 years
has resulted in instability and chaos and raised serious
questions regarding the vexed issues of Individual Freedom,
Civil Liberties, equitable distribution of resources, wealth
and income and Social Justice. What is to be done?

Social Questions

8. Economic Development leads to increased wealth and
prosperity for a narrow section of society in rural areas, too.
However, with prosperity, human beings lose their finer
qualities and sensitivities. Under poverty, suffering and
misery the finer human qualifies and sensitivities are
reinforced. Why is it so? What could be done to ensure that
the innate human goodness is not eroded?

9. Formal Education may not necessarily promote social
awareness and rational thinking. What is to be done to
inculcate human consciousness and rationality through
educational transformation?

Ethical Question

10. Material development and economic prosperity also bring
along various types of vices, like drinking, drug addiction,
gambling, litigations, feuds, murders and other crimes
including sexual violence, both domestic and in the public
spaces. This leads to more misery suffering and degeneration
of the value system and instability in society. What could be
done to retain and strengthen the human values?

With all the development and progress in science and
technology, we have now entered the 2U* century. We have gone
beyond the skies into the space and have access to material
prosperity beyond imagination in the previous century. However,
where is the happiness that Gautam Buddha and Mahavira sought
more than 2,500 years ago? Where is the satisfaction we sought in

162 Suresh Suratwala

our own lifetime? This is the vital question that I pose before my
mature readers. I appeal to my readers to help me in finding the
answer that has evaded me for long. Many learned and wise people
tell me that the experience that I have documented in this book is
part of the universal experience. But this generalization does not
satisfy me. Nor should it satisfy any of my readers. This is because
the question(s) I pose and the answer(s) I seek are not in my
personal domain. Our collective pursuit (yours and mine) is entirely
in the public domain. Let us promise to ourselves that we will
certainly persist in the pursuit of SATYA until the core question -
‘Why is it so?’ - is resolved.

Afterthoughts

In the final analysis, it may be stated that, certainly and
without any doubt, the living conditions of the villagers of the
Devapur Project area have significantly improved. As a result of the
intensive work carried out by the Project in the field of soil and
water conservation, excavation of a large number of old and new
wells and taking-up of several small size Group Lift-Irrigation
Schemes, the cropping pattern of agriculture has changed from
single to a double crop, one of which is a commercial crop like
cotton, groundnut or sugar cane. Activities in the field of Animal
Husbandry - cattle, sheep, goats and fishing - have given the
villagers additional income. Today, they are much better-off. They
have more food to eat, better clothes to wear, better facilities for
education and health, housing, roads, communication and transport.
The physical and material life of the people is undoubtedly better
than before. As a result of education, thanks to the Late Karmaveer
Bhaurao Patil, at least one member of each family is now employed
in the nearby town and provides additional income to one's family.
Some of them have become professionals like Doctors, Engineers,
Professors and Teachers, thanks to the scholarships provided by the
Sir Dorabji Tata Trust.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 163

But at the same time, it must be admitted that the major share
of those benefits of the rural development work has gone to the
landowners and the other well-to-do in the villages. Those villagers,
who earlier had productive assets or some means of production like
land, water and animals are much better-off today than others,
namely the artisans and the landless labour. The impoverished and
the weaker sections of society, who did not have any means of
production except their labour, have not benefitted much. They have
got only marginal benefits from the development activities. It is,
therefore, my humble view that the fundamental inequalities in the
social structure is the real issue, not poverty which is only a
consequence of the former. On account of the development
programmes being implemented in an un-equal society, the gap
between the haves and have-nots has widened and is gradually
increasing. The educational, health and welfare facilities provided
by us are more availed of by the rich and better-off. In short, what
has been done is only a Functional type of rural development work,
within the existing socio-economic structure and the prevailing
unequal society. Unless and until, changes in the social structure
namely, the ownership pattern of land and water, are
simultaneously undertaken and implemented effectively, the
benefits of the Functional Development programmes will not
reach the impoverished and weaker sections of the society.

Further, I would like to submit most humbly but more
importantly that as a result of increase in income and material
prosperity, the villagers have become more selfish, more jealous
and more narrow-minded. There is more greed, more competition
and easy availability of money in the villages. This has resulted in
more vices and crimes of all types. Corruption and consumerism is
flourishing at the village level also. There is less desire to work hard
on land and with hands. There is a major but adverse change in the
mindset of the younger generation. They want quick money by any
means, crooked or otherwise. The earlier fellow-feeling within the
family and in the village community has almost disappeared.

164 Suresh Suratwala

The family and the community as institutions are
disintegrating. There is hardly any community consciousness left.
When I went to the villages in early 1950s, the people were poor but
they were happy and satisfied. They were willing to help each other
in difficult times. Today, their concern is restricted to oneself and, if
at all, to the family only. They have little desire to help even their
relatives and neighbours. On the contrary, they try to create
obstacles for each other. In spite of having more of everything in
material terms, there is neither personal satisfaction nor love for
others. There are more family and inter-family feuds resulting in
physical quarrels and conflicts, turning into police and court
cases. The social attitude of the people in general is going from
bad to worse. And, this to my mind, is one of the core elements
constituting the paradox of rural development.

Of course, this phenomenon is not restricted to the nine
villages of the Devapur Project in Maan Taluka, where I worked. I
agree that it has become a national problem, calling for the highest
political attention as far as the prevailing model of rural
development is concerned. It is, therefore, a matter of great concern
not only for the people of the nine villages but a matter of concern
for all of us, particularly our educated youth, intellectuals, our
policy makers and planners, our students and teachers and the civil
society represented by the Voluntary Organizations. There is serious
moral and ethical degeneration as well as dismantling of the socio¬
economic and political fabric of the society. The socio-political
system must change fundamentally. Let us all introspect as to
where we are going and where we should go, before we lose our
Swaraj, as Dr. Ambedkar cautioned us with an amazing foresight
almost 80 years ago^^ and before it is too late!

^'Ambedkar, B. R. (May, 1936), Annihilation of Caste,

http://ccnmtl.columbia.edu/projects/mmt/ambedkar/web/readings/aoc_print_2004.pdf
p. 40 (Cited in Introduction, Footnote 13).

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 165

EPILOGUE

f f the 26th of January 1950, we are going to enter

into a life of contradictions. In politics we will
have equality and in social and economic life we will have
inequality. In politics we will be recognising the principle
of one man one vote and one vote one value. In our social
and economic life, we shall, by reason of our social and
economic structure, continue to deny the principle of one
man one value. How long shall we continue to live this
life of contradictions? How long shall we continue to
deny equality in our social and economic life? If we
continue to deny it for long, we will do so only by putting
our political democracy in peril. We must remove this
contradiction at the earliest possible moment or else those
who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of
political democracy which this Assembly has so
laboriously built up."

- Babasaheb Dr. B. R. Ambedkar's speech
at the Constituent Assembly, 25th November 1949

The original manuscript of this book was written in English in
the year 2006 and its Marathi edition was published on 15* August
2006. However, the publishing of the English version was delayed
over a decade, especially because the manuscript of the year 2006
had to undergo major revisions in view of my continuing
introspection and consequent analysis of my grass-roots experience.
The comprehensive Introduction to the English version has built up
the required analytical framework for the readers.

166 Suresh Suratwala

Now that the significantly revised and improved English
edition is being published, it is necessary to take stock of present
socio-economic and political context and critically review some of
the earlier conclusions in light of the developments since then.

In the meantime, my continuing reflections on the experiences
of the Devapur Project along with studies on the questions of
political economy of India as well as the world have led me to
understand that rural development has to be premised afresh on the
following formulation:

Real Economic Problems of India: Inequality, Not Poverty;
Unemployment, Not [Economic] Growth

Based upon the published data and reports in various recent
surveys, magazines and newspapers, read along with the writings of
Prof. Thomas Piketty, Professor at the Paris School of Economics
and Prof. Joseph Stiglitz, Nobel Laureate in Economics, inspired me
to compile all such reports, basically on inequality and
unemployment, and bring out a Monograph in the year 2016 for
limited public dissemination and discussion. The aforesaid one-liner
formulation was adopted as the title of my Monograph.

At the beginning of this Epilogue, we decided to recall a few
lines from Dr. Ambedkar's historic speech delivered to the
Constituent Assembly on 25th November 1949 just when, in his
capacity as the Chairperson of the Drafting Committee, he
presented the Draft Constitution to the Chairperson of the
Constituent Assembly, Dr. Rajendra Prasad. These lines bring out
powerfully and with characteristic clarity Dr. Ambedkar's deep
concern regarding the continued denial of "equality in our social
and economic life", followed by his prophetic warning that, if the
DENIAL by the ruling classes and castes is not replaced by Indian
state's Constitutional COMMITMENT "at the earliest possible
moment", none should be surprised if "those who suffer from
inequality will blow up the structure of political democracy."
What follows in the Epilogue is primarily inspired by Dr.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 167

Ambedkar's ideas and ideology calling for urgent reconstruction of
Indian society and polity.

Some of the overarching socio-economic macro-parameters
(also underlined in Chapters 7, 8 and 10) indicate that situation has
worsened during the past decade, especially during the last five
years. Here is a brief overview (not exhaustive, only indicative) of
the twin issues of inequality and unemployment, organically
interlinked with the deepening socio-political crisis of the country,
especially the rural crisis reflected in the upsurge of the farmers'
movements in the last few years with alarming rise in their 'pent up
anguish'.

A. INEQUALITY

Oxfam, an international human rights organisation, released its
'Reward Work, Not Wealth' Report-2017^^ on the study of the
world-wide Inequality just before the meeting of the World
Economic Forum (WEF) held at Davos in January 2018, attended
by world leaders including India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The following are some selected excerpts from the Report - the first
five regarding India and the last one on the global situation.

> India’s richest 1% usurped as much as 73% of the total
wealth generated (GDP) in the country in 2017. Further, 67
crore Indians, comprising the population’s poorest half, saw
their wealth rise by just 1% in 2017.

> India’s richest 1% held a huge 58% of the country’s total
wealth i.e. the stock of wealth, and not just the wealth
generated in a year — higher than the comparable global
figure of about 50%. Further, India’s top 10% of population
holds 73% of the wealth.

^^Source: (i)

https://www.oxfamamerica.org/static/media/files/Reward_Work_Not_Wealth_Full
Report_-_English_-_Embargo_22_January_2018.pdf; & (ii)
https://thewire.in/economy/richest-l-comered-73-wealth-generated-india-2017-
oxfam-survey.

168 Suresh Suratwala

> The wealth of India’s richest 1% increased by over Rs 20.9
lakh crore during 2017 — an amount equivalent to the total
budget of the central government in 2017-18. Further, the
country added 17 new billionaires last year, taking the total
number to 101. The Indian billionaires’ wealth increased to
over Rs 20.7 lakh crore — increasing during the last year by
Rs 4.89 lakh crore, an amount sufficient to finance 85% of
all of Indian states ’ budget on health and education.

> In India, it will take 941 years for a minimum wage worker in
rural India to earn what the top paid executive at a leading
Indian garment firm earns in a year.

^ The Indian women workers often find themselves at the
bottom of the heap in terms of their wages and nine out of ten
billionaires are men.

> At the global level, the year 2017 saw an unprecedented
increase in the number of billionaires, at a rate of one every
two days. Billionaire wealth has risen by an average of 13%
a year since 2010 — six times faster than the wages of
ordinary workers, which have risen by a yearly average of
just 2%. The last year also witnessed that 82% of the wealth
generated worldwide went to the 1%, while 3.7 billion
people that account for the poorest half of population saw no
increase in their wealth.

With Prime Minister Narendra Modi attending the WEF
meeting in Davos, Oxfam India urged the Indian government to
ensure that the country’s economy works for everyone and not
just the fortunate few. It asked the government to promote inclusive
growth by encouraging labour-intensive sectors that will create
more jobs; investing in agriculture; and effectively implementing
the social protection schemes that exist. Oxfam India also sought
sealing of the 'Leaking Wealth Bucket' by taking stringent measures
against tax evasion and avoidance, imposing higher tax on super¬
rich and removing corporate tax breaks. In addition, Oxfam's Report

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 169

drew Indian Government's attention to "the key factors driving up
rewards for shareholders and corporate bosses at the expense of
workers’ pay and conditions; include erosion of workers’ rights;
excessive influence of big business over government policy¬
making; and the relentless corporate drive to minimise costs in
order to maximise returns to shareholders."

The Oxfam India CEO said it is alarming that the benefits of
economic growth in India continue to concentrate in fewer hands.
She clarified, “The billionaire boom is not a sign of a thriving
economy but a symptom of a failing economic system. Those
working hard, growing food for the country, building
infrastructure, working in factories are struggling to fund their
child’s education, buy medicines for family members and manage
two meals a day. The growing divide undermines democracy and
promotes corruption and cronyism. ”

B. UNEMPLOYMENT AND DISEMPLOYMENT

> According to the report of the Centre for Monitoring Indian
Economy (CMIE)^^, the unemployment rate in December 2018
rose to 7.38% from 4.78% in December 2017, highest since
September 2016 when it stood at a high of 8.46%.

> In December 2017, a total of 26.94 crore people were employed
in rural parts of the country, which dropped to 26.03 crores in the
month of December 2018, amounting to a loss of 91 Lakh jobs in
the rural areas alone. Remaining about 18 lakh jobs were lost in
the urban parts of the country with the overall numbers of
employed declining to 13.66 crores from 13.84 crores.

> Of the total 1.09 crore jobs lost in the last 12-month period
(December 2017 to December 2018), about 83% jobs were lost in
rural areas, the remaining 17% jobs lost in urban areas.

^^Source: https://www.financialexpress.com/economy/l-crore-jobs-lost-m-2018-

unemployment-rate-hits-27-month-high-in-december-says-cmie-key-things-to-

know/1435748/

170 Suresh Suratwala

As is well known, the unemployment of the youth has become
one of the most critical problems of the country. The high decibel
political promise made during elections to provide 2 crore jobs/year
(Lok Sabha Elections-2014), as part of the then hypnotising 'achhe
din ayenge' sloganeering, has lost its credibility altogether. The
political leadership which made this promise in the Lok Sabha
Elections-2014 did not dare to even refer to it during the Lok Sabha
Elections-2019. Nor did it repeat the 'achhe din ayenge'
sloganeering since the reality of rising inequality and
unemployment, apart from the farmers' crisis, could not be wished
away. Today, no political party is willing to take a stand on the
issue of unemployment - moral, ideological or programmatic,
except resorting to the diversionary route of promising how many of
the unfilled posts in the government they would fill if they return to
power, knowing fully well fhaf the government posts constitute a
miniscule proportion of the youth demanding employment.

The reasons for the increasing rate of unemployment call for a
thorough scrutiny as they have deep contextual roots in the
experience of the Devapur Project, especially in relation to the new
generation of the educated youth, with serious implications for the
future of the nation (See Chapters 8 and 10). This is particularly
crucial because almost half of India's population is in the age group
that is looking for employment, whether formally educated or not.
We will briefly examine this question in the wider perspective
informed by various socio-economic factors and policy imperatives
of recent years, including the critical data presented above on
Inequality. The following selected issues may be noted:

a) Since globalisation of Indian economy in 1991, we have seen
a period of almost three decades marked by the phenomenon
of 'Job-less Economic Growth'. The present increased rate of
Unemployment for both the categories of youth viz.,
'formally educated with degrees/diplomas' (mostly from the
urban areas) and the 'not formally educated without
degrees/diplomas' (mostly from the rural areas), is a direct

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 171

consequence of the 'Neoliberal Model of Development'. In
the Neoliberal Model, the GDP rises without generating
adequate jobs. How can, therefore, a political leadership with
any worthwhile understanding of India's political economy
promise to generate 2 crore jobs/year in Lok Sabha
Elections-2014? One may have empathy for the political
leadership if it had both the moral courage and the
imagination to concomitantly announce the agenda of
steadily withdrawing from the 'Neoliberal Model of
Development' and instead building either a 'Capitalist
Model of Development without Neoliberalism' or, even far
better, a 'Socialist Model of Development', the latter
'Socialist Model' having the historically proven capacity to
generate adequate employment for any society.
b) We recall that India's rural crisis is "a direct consequence of
the increasing disparity between the cities and villages due
to the pricing policies deliberately favouring the urban-
based industry, trade and the service sector while blatantly
discriminating against the rural-based agricultural and
artisanal production as well as other multiple productive
activities undertaken by the landless labour" (Excerpted
from Chapter 8, p. 144). No wonder that the CMIE report
found that "Of the total 1.09 crore jobs lost in the last 12-month
period (December 2017 to December 2018), about 83% jobs were
lost in rural areas, the remaining 17% jobs lost in urban areas." It
may be pertinent to record here that the discriminatory pricing
policies tilted against the mral economy also constitute the
fundamental cause of the heightening rural crisis, resulting in the
unmitigated indebtedness of the farmers and the consequent
suicidal rate and desperate migration to cities which, in turn, leads
to social instability as well as threat to the democratic politics and
weakening of the moral fabric of the society, as Stiglitz had earlier
warned.

172 Suresh Suratwala

c) Let us recall the data-based extreme inequalities presented
above that India is suffering from. How can then one expect
that the Indian state can even think of offering dignified
employment to its crores of youth, mockingly called the
Demographic Dividend, with equal opportunity and social
justice? Nothing less than this would the Constitution ever
permit. This issue would pose a historic challenge to the
newly mandated 17th Lok Sab ha. No Lok Sab ha has ever
faced a challenge of such magnitude - the challenge of
providing dignified employment to all of its youth with equal
opportunity and social justice. Of even greater concern is the
fact that this formidable challenge is to be faced in a society
that carries the historic load of extreme inequalities, rooted in
caste, class, creed, patriarchy, race, birth place, language and
'normal body' and that, too, when the nation's political
economy is being dictated terms by the Neo-liberal Capital
riding piggy-baek on the Hindu Rashtra forees*'*. Would
the Parliament call for the moral support of the 130 crore
plus people of India in taking up the challenge forthwith of
eliminating inequalities and unemployment, liberating the
farmers from the cycles of debts and turning the rural crisis
into an historic opportunity for building a new social and
economic order? Undoubtedly, the Indian masses would not
hesitate a bit in offering its moral support, provided the
political leadership has the moral courage to make the
required political appeal with due ground-level
preparations^^.

^"*866 Introduction, Section entitled 'On the Role of VOs/NGOs', for elaboration of
this anti-people, anti-Constitutional and anti-national contemporary political
phenomenon.

^^An outstanding example from the recent history is the massive nation-wide
response to an honest appeal made by the Late Prime Minister Lai Bahadur Shastri
during the 1965-66 Indo-Pak War to the people to give up one meal a day to save
food for the Jawans fighting at the border. Given the moral stature and sincerity of
the Prime Minister Shastri, not the mere numbers of the Congress MPs in the

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 173

d) Howsoever limited potential of job generation the Neoliberal
Model of Development may have innately possessed, it faces
further incremental attrition under the assault by the 'crazy'
rush for automation in three successively dangerous phases
of (a) mechanisation (mid-19th century to date); (b)
digitalisation^^ (late 20th century to date); and the most
aggressively anti-human of all times viz., (c) Artificial
Intelligence through its Robotics (early 21st century to date).
Each of these three 'successively dangerous phases' of
automation is designed to discard or reduce the human
agency and build a society essentially 'without human
beings'. In this Orwellian cynical design, the technology,
especially the latter two viz., digitalisation and Artificial
Intelligence, is driven strictly by the Finance Capital invested
in the world's most powerful stock exchanges, like London,
New York, Beijing and Tokyo.

Nowhere in any of these Stock Exchanges, you would find a
khadi dhoti-clad Gandhi with spectacles staring at the
Computer screen with stock prices flying high or tumbling
down and asserting, "/ am not against any technology as
long as it does not cause unemployment. " For Gandhi, all
technologies were welcome provided these do not dis¬
employ people i.e. human beings since Gandhi's ideology
was aimed at building happy and peaceful human
communities, not 'Superpower' Hindu Rashtra, driven by the
Finance Capital at world's stock exchanges.

An Imaginary Dialogue Between Mahatma Gandhi and India's
Present Politieal Leadership

Hence, no one should be surprised if, at this historic conjuncture of
the dawn of the much-hyped 4th Industrial Revolution, Gandhi

Parliament, the people's massive response was unprecedented in Indian democratic
history.

^"See introduction, Footnote 20, for some observations on the dehumanising role
that Digitalisation is already playing in the world.

174 Suresh Suratwala

places only the following two options before India's political
leadership :

(i) Support the Indian people to organise an Insaaniyat
Satyagrah, in the style of the 'Salt Satyagrah' and in alliance
with 'Occupy Wall Street' movement with the slogan "We are
the 99%", at each of the aforesaid Stock Exchanges engaged
in the mad rush to invest trillions of dollars in the
'Disemployment Technology' and compel them to withdraw
investment from such a technology that builds 'Dehumanised
Societies', and if necessary, by threatening them with 'Non¬
cooperation Movement' Le. withdrawal of India from the
global market and also walking out of the forthcoming WTO
inter-ministerial meeting unless it allows the Indian
government to provide all the required subsidy to resolve the
agricultural crisis;

OR ELSE

(ii) I hereby withdraw not only my spectacles from the
Swachhata Abhiyan but also withdraw the presumed
permission to immorally use me or any part of my writings or
personality, politically or philosophically, for promoting the
Neoliberal Capitalist Model of Development, dictated by the
global capitalism and its varied agencies and Stock Exchanges
- riding piggy-back on the Hindu Rashtra forces. Although I
have already forgiven the representative of the Hindu Rashtra
ideology who killed me on 30th January 1948, this anti¬
people, anti-Constitutional and anti-national ideology
continues to negate not only the Freedom Struggle but also
the Constitution. I am persuaded to point it out since the
Neoliberal Capitalist Model of Development so slavishly
pursued by you can never generate adequate dignified
employment with equal opportunity and Social Justice as
mandated by the Constitution while also massively dis¬
employing youth. In addition, this development model leads

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 175

to a de-humanized India which is incrementally evident as
you ruthlessly push your twin 'Skill India' and 'Digital
India' missions, apart from also reinforcing the anti-farmer
and anti-rural artisan policies along with the Green
Revolution technology that originally sowed the seeds of the
prevailing agricultural crisis!

We also reproduce here the following hand-written Note we found
appended to the above offer by Gandhi of his two options to India's
present political leadership: "If you have some problem in
understanding the political implications of my two options, I
suggest that you read Babasaheb Dr. Ambedkar's historic speech
delivered at the Constituent Assembly on 25th November 1949
along with his seminal essay entitled 'Annihilation of Caste' (1936).
This should enable you to take a decision that would liberate India
from the clutches of the Neo-liberal Capitalism and the caste system
along with the patriarchy embedded therein. This should put India's
destiny back on the Constitutional path as per the aspirations of the
Freedom Struggle and the Constitutional imperatives. I take this
opportunity to clarify that, despite some differences of perception
between the two of us, I held Dr. Ambedkar in the highest esteem
for the depth of his scholarship, uncompromising commitment to
annihilate caste and patriarchy and the vision of building an
economy rooted in equitable distribution of the means of production
and natural resources. This is why when Jawaharlal Nehru was
exploring whom to assign the responsibility of drafting the
Constitution, I suggested Dr. Ambedkar for this historic task and
Jawaharlal readily accepted my suggestion."

Until we find out what happened to the above two options offered
by Mahatma Gandhi to India's present political leadership and,
indirectly to the Parliament also, there is nothing worthwhile left
that we can add to this Epilogue.

176 Suresh Suratwala

APPENDIX

Selected Letters and Notes from the Author®’
( 1 )

Dear Anil,

Date 14.11.2006

As agreed, I am sending you a copy of the computer-typed manuscript
of the proposed book I have tried to write about our Devapur Work and
some of my views and conclusions arrived at by me on the basis of 35
years of experience in rural development.

I know, perhaps you may find it totally rubbish and nonsense but,
whatever it is, I want you to go through it whenever you have some
time and you are at ease. And then if you find some meaning or any
substance in it, I want your help in correcting it or re-writing it, if
necessary. To me the essence and its spirit are more important. The
language, the style and its presentation are not so important. I just want
the message, which I wish to convey to the readers, should reach them
in some form or other.

The first five chapters, which describe the work done by us and the
magnitude of development brought about are not so very important. But
the last five chapters on our experiences and what we have learnt are
very important. I need your help more on these last five chapters.

Anil, basically I am not a writer but a rural worker, so there are large
number of errors. I have been so 'obsessed' by some of my views on
Rural Development and Social Change that (a) there are many
repetitions of the same views; (b) the sentences are very long; (c) in
some cases, there may not be proper linkage also; (d) there are errors in
grammar as well as construction; and (e) spelling mistakes may be all
over.

I request you to completely rectify all these in the best way you think it
proper. You have the full authority to make any changes in any part of
the write-up in the way you think it best. Even if you do not agree with

Appendix, square Braekets i.e. [. . . ] have been used to insert or replace words
to make the sentence clearer to the readers while ensuring that the author's views
and their core sense continue to be presented as truly as possible. Similarly, italics
have been introduced to emphasise some of the author’s significant ideas. - Ed.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 177

some of my views, you may make necessary changes [while] keeping
the main theme and its spirit. You may delete or remove any portion or
even the whole chapter, if you like. Similarly, you may even add some
of your views based on your rural work experience at KISHORE
BHARATI in Madhya Pradesh. I am also willing and prepared to
present it jointly with your name along with mine to make it more
effective. I am not interested in my name or any monetary gain. What I
want to convey is that the present approach of Functional Rural Work
without simultaneous Structural Changes will not lead to real Socio¬
economic Transformation in the country. Flow best to do it is a matter
of further dialogue and discussion by all concerned.

Further, at present, there is no Preface and Introduction to the proposed
book. So, I want you to do that also. Similarly, I do not know any
publisher who would agree to publish such a provocative material.
Flence, I would like you to arrange for a good publisher at your end
only. Even if it is not brought out in the form of a Book, we can bring it
out in the form of a monograph so that the people interested may go
through it. You may kindly decide about the Title of the Book also.
But, your contribution in terms of the views in general is very
important; we may agree or disagree on some points.

In short, I want your full support and all the help from you. Let us make
it a joint project, if you agree with my main views. There is no hurry
about it. You may take your own time but whenever you do it, please
do it with your heart. You may take anybody’s help, so that it is not
much delayed. In my view, you may require about a fortnight or so, to
prepare a press copy after making necessary corrections and changes
(Editor's emphasis).^* Agricultural rural people have been totally and

^"instead of a fortnight, we took 13 long years to finalise the manuscript for the
press! The central cause for the delay was the fundamental issues raised by the
author. The book questions the very raison d'etre of the notion of material
development leading to improved economic conditions and prosperity, as advocated
in capitalism. It also juxtaposes the goal of social transformation aimed at
sensitisation of the human being and building an equitable, socially just and humane
society against the prevailing capitalist goal of development. Dr. Anil Sadgopal,
who was asked by the author to write the Introduction and who himself has 20 years
of grass-roots experience in rural development, initially found it beyond his
intellectual acumen to engage with the 'paradox of development' posed by the
author. Hence, he wrote several drafts of the Introduction over the years and
engaged with the author by periodic visits from Bhopal to Mumbai. Ultimately, the
author's 'paradox' had to be deconstructed in the ideological perspective of
socialism. This called for applying his 'heart' as the author expected of him, not just

178 Suresh Suratwala

deliberately negleeted, rather exploited by the Rulers of our eountry.
We must do something to stop them by [bringing about] some basie
and fundamental poliey ehanges. I need your help. I shall be highly
grateful.

With warm affeetion,

Yours sineerely,

Suresh Suratwala

Post-Script.: I am writing this beeause I very well know that people
like you have great faith in Freedom & Liberty of the Individual,
Demoeratie Institutions and the Edueational System presently
prevailing in the eountry. This is a eontroversial point of disagreement
among many of us.

Anil, I am prepared to sit with you and diseuss some of the
eontroversial points. The present eoneepts like Liberty, Individual
Freedom, Demoeraey, Edueation ete. are prevailing today. These are
the tools used by the Capitalist-Imperialist [forees] to retain their
politieal and eeonomie power to exploit the working elass and the
masses. In the name of Freedom and Democracy, a small group of
minority who had the benefit of educating themselves are ruling and
exploiting the people. The edueated middle elass, a small group of
oligarehy are exploiting in the name of Freedom and Demoeraey. We
are the slaves of this oligarehy, supported by the Governments in USA,
UK and Europe through UNO, World Bank, IMF, WTO ete. in the
name of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization. Both the ruling
party and the parties in the opposition, in Government, Parliament,
Assemblies, Planning Commission and all other offieial bodies of a
very small group are together eheating us for their selfish ends. We are
quietly observing the [farmers'] killings and suieides. NGOs^^ are also

mind, and to submerge himself in and 'live' with the manuscript. This he managed to
do in May-June 2019. The editing of the manuscript, too, could not remain
unaffected from this in-depth ideological engagement with the author's 'paradox'.

- Ed.

^^For appreciating the political distinction between Voluntary Organisations (VOs)
and Non-Govemment Organisations (NGOs), please see Introduction, Footnote 19
to be read with Chapter 7, Footnote 42. Knowing the author's views on social
transformation, we have normally used the term 'VOs' imless the political context
justifies the use of the term 'NGOs'. In the context here, the author's use of the term
'NGOs' seems justified. - Ed.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 179

not doing anything. Why can’t we tell [the farmers] not to repay the
loans, instead of committing suicides? Why can’t we tell people not to
pay any taxes, any revenue fees or charges to the Government?^®

The Culture, Socio-economic Conditions and even the Geography,
History and the Environment of the western countries [in contrast to
those of] the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America
are quite different [but] we are blindly trying to follow them [i.e. the
western countries]. Rather, they are unethically and immorally trying to
force on us their way of life by exploiting our ignorance and resources.
We must try to find our own way of life. We have knowingly or
unknowingly focused on Freedom and Liberty at the cost of Equality”,
which is more important for us. The gap between the rich and poor
nations and people within the country has been widening according to
all researches and studies. Development cannot be sustainable without
Equality. In the name of Freedom, Liberty and Democracy, a small
group of the educated and the well-to-do class has taken over power. In
my view, Nehru, Mahalanobis, Swaminathan M.S., Ahluwalia M., PM,
FM and many others are the real culprits to lead us to the present chaos
and anarchy in all the fields, including Education. They have mined our
Agriculture and Village & Cottage Industries by promoting capital
against labour, in the name of economic reforms. There are no
priorities. We have to decide our own priorities. They [i.e. the western
capitalist powers] have double standards for different things and
different countries. They give subsidies to their rich farmers. When we
give [subsidies] to our small farmers, they do not like it. Why should
they not? Why do they want to force us in our planning?

'’"Being primarily inspired by Gandhi's 'Go to the villages' call during the Freedom
Struggle, the author's question is reminiscent of Gandhi's non-violent 'Civil
Disobedience' or 'Non-Co-operation' movements of the Freedom Struggle. - Ed.
"'The discerning reader would recall the frequent references in this book to
Individual Freedom and Liberty whose proponents the author seems to be implicitly
critical of. This must have left many of the readers puzzled and, probably
uncomfortable with, too. The riddle stands resolved by this sentence. What the
author is clearly critical of are not the values of Individual Freedom and Liberty but
of those proponents of these values who do not pursue the value of equality with the
same conviction or do not show any concern with the rising inequalities in the
society. Notably, the author is entirely comfortable with the Preamble to the
Constitution which advocates 'Liberty of thought, expression, belief, faith and
worship' along with Equality, Social Justice and Fraternity. - Ed.

180 Suresh Suratwala

I tried to phone you on your mobile as well as at Bhopal but could not
get you. Hence, I had to take Vasu’s^^ help. Accordingly, I am sending
you all this material to enable us to present our views, based on grass¬
roots level experience. In this task I want your help.

Please try to take action at your earliest convenience.

Note: Anil, it is absolutely necessary to totally change the Political,
Social and Economic Structure and the System of the society before we
do anything else. Otherwise we shall continue to do the patch work and
the farmers would go on dying and committing suicide

I know this is a very huge task and how to do it is still a larger problem.
But let us first make our educated social activists agree and accept this
thesis in toto. Otherwise, each one [of us] would waste her/his whole
life in making her/his 'shop' look the best. Someone would spend the
whole life on big dams, another on Environment, third on Education
and so on and so forth.

But the actual urgent need is to totally destroy the existing system, the
structure and the status-quo which has been consolidated during the last
60 years. Inequality is widening and deepening. The Capitalists-cum-
Imperialists and their agencies like the UNO, World Bank, IMF and
WTO are fooling us and the Rulers and the Planners are unable to
understand the reality. Let us first make them realize this and make
concerted effort to destroy it. Real construction would begin in its
destruction. We can then begin the creation of a new society on a clean
slate. This is most difficult but it is a must. There is no other way. Let
us, therefore, make people accept this thesis that the Structure and the
System are very crucial and must somehow undergo total change, a
total transformation. I know Education is very important but not now,
its role is after revolution. First, we must have full empowerment of the
masses^^. I want total change first. And this is the message I wish to
convey, you may agree or disagree.

- Suresh/November 14, 2006

^^Dr. Vasu Nori, a socially committed and brilliant Structural Engineer in Mumbai,
has been a member of KISHORE BHARATl's Exeeutive Committee from early
1980s until last year. - Ed.

^^Undoubtedly, the empowerment of the masses must reeeive the highest priority in
social action. Yet, the empowerment is itself a process of politieal edueation with
eonseientisation, as Paulto Freire has powerfully advoeated. Even the present formal
edueation system, if transformed along the lines proposed by Einstein (See pp. 40-
41), ean help build the foundation in the schools for mass empowerment. - Ed.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 181

( 2 )

December 21, 2006

Dear Anil,

I am sure you must have received my long letter and the manuscript of
my proposed Book in English on my work at Devapur. But I can
understand that due to your other work, activities and preoccupation,
you have not been able to respond.

But I wish to request you to spare some time for me and try to read
what nonsense I have written and let me first know whether it is worth
publishing. I want to have your free, frank and honest view. If yes, I
want your help in all the ways in publishing it at your earliest. If not,
forget about it and throw it in a dust-bin.

However, I must tell you that the conditions in our country are fast
deteriorating. There is chaos and anarchy in all the fields. Unless some
bold and radical policy decisions are taken, the things may go out of
control. Therefore, it is to alert our people that I have written down
some thing. Please speak to me on phone. I tried to reach out to you a
number of times but without success. So, please call me at any time. I
am at home only but at night, it is better. Hope all of you are in good
health. I am pulling on with my frastrations, but physically not so bad.

With affection.

Yours sincerely,

Suresh Suratwala

( 3 )

June 18, 2008

Dear Anil,

As desired by you, during our telephonic talk on Monday, 9* June
2008, I am hurriedly sending you herewith: (1) Biographical and
Background Note; (2) Some of the basic questions which are bothering
me after working for 35 years in rural areas. Hope you will find this in
order.

You are requested to take out more copies of these papers and send
them, with the manuscript of the proposed book on the Rural
Development Work at Devapur, to your friends and social activists with
a request to give their comments both positive as well as negative,
freely and frankly, so that you can incorporate them in your larger

182 Suresh Suratwala

work. Prepare yourself mentally to write a detailed Introduetion to the
same.

But, kindly do give them some dead-line, at least a tentative last date
for giving their eomments. Otherwise, it will remain pending. Do send
me a list of these soeial aetivists and their addresses, if you ean.

I hope and trust that you will try to take up the job as early as possible,
in spite of being busy with so many pre-oecupations. Keep well and
remember me to Shashi.

Kindly aeknowledge, if you ean.

Yours sineerely,

(S. R.Suratwala)

Enel: As above

P. S.: i) You may find my questions very simplistie but they are
realistie and praetieal. And I agree that the answers are not easy, ii) The
papers have not been properly typed in hurry. You may get them
properly retyped, if you like.

Dear Hardenia ji.

(4)

November 01, 2010

Thank you for sending me the edited draft of the eomplete text of the
manuscript of the book on Devapur Project. The corrections and editing
has been done very well. It is now readable and makes sense. You have
done an excellent job. I am sure you must have taken great pains and
put in a lot of hard work. I am highly grateful to you for your valuable
help. I have found everything in order except some typographical
errors, which may please be corrected at the time of proof-reading. You
must be having its hard copy so I am not sending you back the copy
you have sent to me.

shall now try to respond to the various points raised by you in your
letter, one by one, as follows:-

1. Suitable, appropriate and attractive Title for the book may please be
decided by you and Anil. It should bring out the spirit of the book.

2. Preface for the book written by me is sent herewith. You are
requested to make necessary and corrections and changes. I would
like “A summary of conclusions” in the beginning, after the

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 183

Preface, if you and Anil are agreeable. I am sending you a Draft for
your perusal and corrections. All the readers may not like to read
the whole book but would like to know the gist of the book.

3.1 hope Anil gets some time to write a really long and good
Introduction to the book. I would like him to write a very forceful
Introduction, as early as possible.

4. Comments and a Special Note . There is no other person better than
you to write a Special Note. You should give the benefit of your
knowledge and experience of rural work to the book.

5. A Map of Maan Taluka and a map of villages also sent herewith, as
required.

6. Comparative Statistical Tables in English are also sent herewith.
Hope you will find them in order. I suggest you try to reduce their
size in print, so that the space and pages are not wasted.

7. Some photographs of Devapur Project are also sent but they are
very old. You may select the best you like. Notes on the
photographs are written on the back side. 21 photographs.

8. As regards Abbreviations , if you could send me the list, I can give
you the full form.

9. You may include any of my relevant written papers in the
Appendix , if you think proper.

I do not think that Sir Dorabaji Tata Trust would agree to print and
publish the book. I would like it to be published by KISHORE
BHARATI (KB), if KB's Executive Committee agrees. I could
contribute a modest amount towards its expenses, if KB wants. I am not
interested in any income for me. All the Rights should go to KB. I shall
also reimburse all the expenditure you have incurred so far and you
may incur in future also. Both Anil and you will have to do everything
till the book is finally published. I need your help.

Thanking you.

With warm regards.

Yours Sincerely,

Suresh Suratwala
Copy to Anil Sadgopal

184 Suresh Suratwala

( 5 )

August 07, 2013

Dear Hardenia ji

I am sending you my hand-written explanatory note on my views for
you and Anil. Please get it typed and send a eopy to Anil and to me.
Kindly let me have your eomments and ask Anil also to give his
eomments. You may inelude any portion of this note in your editorial
eomments, if you like. When eompleted send your editorial eomments
to me and Anil. Tell Anil to finish his revised Introduetion as soon as
possible. I hope that both of you and Anil will try to publish the book
as early as possible. If you have any questions, do phone me.

Thanking you, with regards.

Yours Sineerely,

Suresh Suratwala

Attached Note:

For Anil & Rajendra Hardenia

I would like Jyotibhai Desai^"* and all who have worked in the villages
to eome out with their own experienees and express their views on
what are the real problems of the raral people and the possible real
solutions, instead of making eomments on what I have written.
Somebody should eompile all sueh views and experienees and present
them in a eonsolidated form so that it eould have impaet on our
Planners, Poliey makers and Rulers. To the best of my knowledge,
many of our rural workers have undergone similar experienees but, for
some reason or eompulsion, they are reluetant to eome out with the
lessons they learnt. One of the main eompulsions is Self-Seeurity
and/or Dogmatism. Most of them feel that “I have done my duty and do
not wish to go into deeper or wider implieations of what I have done”.
There is also a sense of Self-Satisfaetion and lack of desire to face the
Truth and Reality with an open mind and reason. One must certainly
have an ideology but blind faith and belief do not help the society.
There must be logic and reasoning in what you say or do.

indomitable Gandhian educationist, age 93 years, who struggled to transcend
Gandhi in pursuit of emancipative education. He and the author together
participated in the 1942 Quit India movement. Along with the author, he joined
KISHORE BHARATI's Executive Committee in 1970 and continued till 2000s.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 185

In substance, my only submission is that no Development or Education
is possible in a society rooted in inequalities of various kinds. Equality
must have a priority in our agenda and override all other actions,
including those pertaining to Development and Education. Dogmatic
pursuit of any ideology - be it Gandhiism, Socialism or Marxism - will
lead us nowhere. There is a difference between dogmatism and
commitment. My commitment is to certain values - and Equality is a
basic and fundamental pre-condition - essential value for any
Development including Education. No amount of Education or
Development in an unequal society will take us to our goal. On the
contrary, it leads to greater inequality. Even Right to Education in an
unequal society has resulted in the creation of selfish middle class
which has divided the society further. In an unequal society, anyone
who gets an opportunity to accumulate wealth or power, exploits
others. Education is also a type of power that makes exploitation
possible. Thus, instead of moving towards a classless society, we move
towards a more divided and unequal society. The greatest blunder that
the political leadership of our country has made since independence is
to neglect the agenda of promoting and strengthening equality in
society. In post-independence India, an outstanding exception was Dr.
Ambedkar who fought for building a society liberated from class, caste
and patriarchy and enshrined the principle of equality with social
justice in the Constitution (see Epilogue for his views on inequality in
the Constituent Assembly on 25th November 1949, p. 166).

I have tried to analyze the so-called 'Gandhian' approach to Rural
Development. When those claiming to be 'Gandhians' go to the
villages, they start by establishing an institution - an Ashram or a
school. For this, they have to obtain some land which is generally the
best in the village. They fence that land and construct some building,
may be a simple one. They start their activities with their own self-
satisfying programs, like the morning prayer, followed by some walk or
physical work within the compound and then their special breakfast.
They start their preaching of good values in life and activities like
spinning. This process alienates them from the village life. They create
an island of their own. They tend not to integrate with the people’s life.
This turns them into vested interest of some kind. Thus, they totally
miss the opportunity to learn from the people. In my view, this
approach itself has resulted in failure to influence the people and
organise them for some common cause. Gujarat is probably the best

186 Suresh Suratwala

example of this phenomenon. The highest number of the Gandhian
Ashrams in the eountry were probably established in Gujarat. . . they
eould not make any real impaet on the people. Nor eould they play any
deeisive role in preventing the growth of eommunalism in the post-
Godhra Gujarat. Apparently, [they] just got dogmatieally trapped in
their ideology and eould not learn from the people's experienee.

The NGOs - the professional 'Gandhians' as well as the various kinds
of Development-oriented welfarists, like the Missions - have done good
work in their own fields in their own way. I appreeiate it and I have no
quarrel with it. I have also done something similar but with an open
mind, thereby learning from my experienee and ehanging my old
views. However, what I expeet from all of the Voluntary Organisations
is their views on the soeio-eeonomie transformation, based on their
experienee. Most of them tend not to engage with sueh refleetion. They
get stuek-up with setting their own 'shop'. They must present their
views sineerely and honestly so that the eountry eould benefit. Eaeh
one may be doing exeellent work in her/his speeialised field but this
will not help us to bring about any progressive soeial and eeonomie
transformation. The roots of our soeiety are grounded in a traditionally
feudal, and at the same time, eapitalist framework. This mindset eannot
be ehanged by superfluous pateh-work. Eaeh one of us should try to
find out why [what] we did in our own field in our own way eould not
bring about basie and fundamental total ehange and transformation in
the soeiety, in spite of sineere hard work by many good intelleetuals
and people. We must try to seek answers to why we eould not aehieve
our ultimate goal and what eould be done to remedy it? We must
truthfully aeeept our failures and find out what is the real way, real path
we should follow from now onwards. This is expeeted from all good
intentioned rural workers you, me and Jyotibhai (See Appendix,
Footnote 64 on Jyotibhai). All of us have some vision or some dream.
We try to aet aeeording to our eonseious mind, our baekground,
training and edueation during our youthful years. We sueeeed in some
and we fail in others. But our mind matures with experienee. But
physieally we beeome old . . . But the real problem is our mind and
intelleet. We should not get old and stuek-up intelleetually. And we
should leave the essenee our life/work experienees for the future
generations - honestly and sineerely. Let them eontinue to work on the
basis of our experienees. That is what I am trying to do. This is my
humble submission to all my friends.

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 187

INDEX

Advocacy

- VOs on basic policy issues, 139

- Non-Party Political
Forum/Platform, 31,139, 161

Afforestation, 70
Africa, 180
Agave, 76
Agricultural Sector

- from productive to unproductive,

agricultural allied/subsidiary
activities

-fishing, 61,72, 101

- goat-keeping, 72, 158

- poultry, 83

- sheep-rearing, 83, 158
Agriculture, 73, 89, 97, 98, 100

- modernisation of, 9
Ahluwalia, M.S., 180
Ambedkar, Bahasaheb Dr. B. R., 9,
10, 11, 12, 18, 27,38, 43,46, 166,
167

- an outstanding exception for
pursuing political agenda of
equality, 186

Animal Husbandry & Dairy, 89
Annewari, assessment of soil
quality, 55

Apparao, Gurajada, 10
Applied Social Sciences, 1,31, 138
Artificial Insemination Centre, 75
assets, productive economic 73,
108, 111, 129, 131, 163
Asia, 180
ASSOCHAM, 16
Australia, 84

autobiographical documentation, 19
Azad, Maulana Abul Kalam, 6, 9
Azad, Chandrashekhar,12, 17

Bahujans, exclusion of, 18, 35

Bajri, 54, 104, 158

barren desert, 104

barter system, 76, 114

basic infra-structure, development

of, 61,92, 106,133, 159,

Bench Mark Survey, 59, 93, 94
Bhagat Singh, Shaheed-e-Azam,

12, 13, 14, 15, 17,38, 43
Bharat Jan Vigyan Jatha (BJVJ),
32-33

Bharatiya Agro-industries
Foundation (BAIF), 75
Birla, G. D., 16
black soil, 53

BOMBAY PLAN (Tata-Birla
Plan), 6, 15, 16, 17

- developing Public Sector to
promote capitalist class, 36-37

Bombay Presidency, Gazetteer of,
53-54

Bose, Subhash Chandra, 8
British imperialism, 5, 13
British Raj, 16, 17

- 'divide and rule' policy, 6

- 'two-nation theory', 6

- partition into India and Pakistan,
5,6

Buddha, Gautam, 162

capitalist class, Indian, 6, 11, 13,
15, 16, 17, 34, 36
capitalist, western powers,

- double standards of farmers'
subsidy, 180

Capitalism, global, 37

- crisis of, 17, 25

- staggering global capitalism, 17
Caste & Sub-castes, 5, 59, 155

- anti-caste discourse, 9

- anti-caste revolution, 9

- Annihilation of, 12, 27

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 189

- division of labourers, 12

- oppression, village as the fortress
of, 9-10

- hegemony, including of
Patriarchy, 10, 27

- subaltern, shudra-atishudras, 9
Catholic Relief Service (CRS), 65,
66, 108

cattle

- Khillar, 59, 73,74, 75

- Tharparkar, 74, 75

- dual purpose animal, 75
cattle breeding, 20, 74

Cattle Breeding Centre (CBC) at
Hingni (Dhokmod), 74, 75, 91
Census, 1951-1981 & Survey
Esimates, 1959-60 to 1983-84,

57,58

cereals, increased availability of,
104

Chandra, Bipin, 14
Choksi R., 4
Chunkhad, 54, 65
civil liberty, 26, 142
collaboration of RWB & other
agencies in financing, 108
commercial crops, 96, 97
communalism, 8
Communist Movement, 17
Community Development Block,
19, 147

Community Recreation Centre, 130
Constituent Assembly, 11,46, 166,
167

Constitution, 11,31, 34, 46, 120,
122, 161, 180, 186
Constitutional,

- amendments, 157

- imperatives, 35, 46

- obligations, abdication of, 35

- reforms, 141

consumer goods, durable, 96,
104-105

consumerism, 23, 29, 138, 154,

161, 164

co-operatives, 9

- Co-op Cotton Ginning Factory,
77-79

- Co-op (Joint) Farming Societies,
60, 70, 71

- Fishing Co-operatives, 72

- Housing Co-operatives, 72
Corporate Social Responsibility
(CSR) & NGO Sector,

- contradiction with legacy of VOs
from the Freedom Struggle, 22-23

- collusion between Indian state &
corporate capital, 28, 37

cottage industries,

- energisation of agro-based, 7

- lack of policy support, 144
cotton, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 96, 97,
104, 158, 163

- Ginning Factory, 77-79

- growers, 77, 78

- marketing centres, 81

- Procurement, 78
criminal Tribe, 72
cropping pattern,

- multiple cropping, 68

- shift from cereal to cash crops, 61,
65, 69, 77, 158

cultivation, 68-69, 70, 71

Dairy Management, 75
Dandekar, V. M., 51
Deccan Plateau, 53, 64, 73

- drought-prone areas of Andhra
Pradesh, Karnataka, &
Maharashtra, 73

Decorticator Machine, for Sisal-
Agve Fibre Centre, 76
density of population, 57
Department of Fisheries, 72
Desai, Jyotibhai, 21, 185, 187
Devapur, 2, 4, 20, 25, 27, 28, 32,
33, 34, 36, 38, 40, 41, 48, 49, 54,
56,57, 59, 60, 63,69, 70,71,72,
74, 75, 77, 78, 80, 86, 88,91,92,
93,96, 103, 105, 107, 114, 131,

190 Suresh Suratwala

133, 135, 163, 177, 182
Devapur Project, 4, 20, 27, 28, 41,
49, 131

development programme, 48, 64,
102, 128, 134, 137, 145
Development,

- Ambedkar's Model of State
Socialism, 11

- Capitalist Model of, 34, 36-37,
172

- equitable, just & sustainable, 24

- Functional, 23, 137

- Gandhian Model of, 18

- human/social, 27, 32

- magnitude of, 93, 94, 106,

108, 177

- Neo-liberal Model of 172

- patch-work in, 187

- paradox of, 157, 178

- paradoxical transformation,

31,33

- Socialist Model of, 172

- Structural, 38-39

Dey, S. K., first Union Minister of
Community Development, 19
Dhangar (shephard community),
59, 60, 83
Dhule, 53

Diesel Engine pump-sets,

- impact of electricity on quality
of life, 69, 82, 104

Digitalisation, 23-24

Education

- Primary Education, started
schools for Zilla Parishad; quality
of education, 60, 87

- Secondary & Senior Secondary,
started High Schools, 88

- Upgraded a high school to Junior
college, 88

- Scholarships for Higher
Education, 89

- Practical Training in Rural Work,
90

- Vocational Training Course, 91

- Computer Literacy, 91
Economic Growth

- Jobless, 171

Einstein, Albert, 30, 40-41

- economic anarchy of capitalist
society, 40

- oligarchy of private capital, 41

- crippling of individuals and
education, 41

- socialist economy and social goals
of education, 41

- paradox of Gandhi's Nai Taleem,
41

electricity, advent of, 69, 106

- electric pump sets, 66, 104
Employment Guarantee Scheme,

66, 100

Equality, denial of, 166, 167

- neglect as political agenda of,
186

equitable, 24, 31, 138

- equitable distribution of
resoirrces, 31, 161, 162

eradication of epidemics, 104
Ethical degeneration, 110
Europe, 179
Evaluation Study

- On termination of Devapur
Project, 2

- Significance of social change
favouring oppressed masses. 111

fascism, cultural, 6
-jingoistic nationalism, 6
Family Planning, 85, 86, 95, 131,
148

- policy ad-hocism, Male vs..
Female Sterilisation, 119, 120

famine belt/tract, 53, 54, 105, 108
farmer,

- small & marginalized, 36, 139,
141

farming, 11, 20, 72, 83, 109, 113
'Father of the Nation', 18
feudalism, 5

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 191

feudal-cum-capitalist framework,
187

FICCI, 16

field workers, 62, 68, 122, 123,

132, 133, 140
financial

- assistance, 1, 50, 73, 108
-debt, 119

- loan, 69

finer qualities of human beings, 27,
29, 135, 145, 154, 159, 162
first five-year plan (1951-56), 19
floods, 47, 53,56, 104, 119
flour mills, impact of electricity, 69
fodder, 59, 61, 70, 74, 98, 101, 104,
114, 121, 158

Food for Work Programme, 65, 66
Freedom, liberty & democracy - at
the cost of equality and social
justice, 180 read with Footnote, 61
freedom movement, 13
Freire, Paulo, 181
Functional Planning, 31, 38,40,
142, 156, 161

fundamental transformation, 157
fundamentalism, religious, 5

Gadgil, D. R., 2, 51
Galper Lands, 60
Games and Sports, 87
Gandhi, M. K., 7, 9,10,15,19

- call to 'Go to Village', 19, 31

- his paradox & Nai Taleem, 41

- imaginary dialogue with Political
Leadership, Epilogue, 174-176

Gangoti, 54, 58, 59, 65, 73, 114
Geography, 180

Globalization, 110, 111, 171, 179
Gokhale Institute of Politics &
Economics, 2
Gram Sevak, 123
Gross Domestic Product (GDP),

172

Groundnut, 81,96, 104, 158
Gulamgiri,IS73 (Slavery), 9

guntha, 92
Guru, Narayan, 10

Haryana, 74

health, 14, 20, 28, 85, 104, 106,
107, 126, 130, 134, 153, 159, 163,
164, 182
hegemony, 27

- of class, upper caste, patriarchy,
language, place of birth, race,
'normal body', 27

hierarchical, 117
Hind Swaraj, 7
Hindu Rashtra

- forces, 6, 14, 24, 36

- collusion with neo-liheralism, 23

- ideology, 42

Hindustan Socialist Republican
Association (HSRA), 13
Hingni, 54, 59, 60, 65, 71, 73, 74,
75, 88, 105, 114

horticulture, 20, 70-71, 76, 91, 96

- fruit grafts, 70

- pomegranate, cultivation & export
of, 70, 71, 158

human being(s), 30, 32, 42,
121,133,135,148,153, 154,

156,158, 159, 160, 162
humanitarian, 126
Hyderabad State, 59

ideological, 12, 27, 39, 42
IMF, 23,42, 179, 181
imperialism, 6, 38
Imperialist, 179

- anti-imperialist discourse, 12
Income, Sources of,

- Agriculture, Bullocks & Bullock
Cart, Eggs/grains, Engine Rent,
Fish, Manure, Milk/Ghee,
Remittances, Salaries, Seasonal
migrants, Sheep/Goats,

Vegetables & wages, 96

192 Suresh Suratwala

Indian Institute of Science, 2, 47
Indian National Congress, 6, 8, 9,
13, 15

- Haripura Congress (1938), 6
Indira Awas Yojana, 92
individualistic, 26, 29, 135, 142,
153

industrialization, 7, 8, 9, 23, 29, 36,
138, 154

inequality, 5, 8, 26, 31, 111, 134,
142, 166, 167, 168, 181, 186
injustice, 98, 134, 143
International context, 147
Introduction for this book, author's
request to write, 183, 184
investment, 16,73, 102, 108, 129,
130, 133

irrigation, 20, 56,

- Drip Irrigation, 70

- Lift Irrigation, 66, 67, 73

- mini-lift irrigation schemes, 66

Jal-Jangal-Jameen-Jivika-Jnana,

Jambhulni, 54

Jat-Pat Todak Mandal, 12

Jawar, 54, 104, 158

Junior College, 88, 91, 102, 107

Karamveer Bhaurao Patil, 4, 59,

60,61,71,78, 163

Khadi & Village industries Board,

Kharif, 54
Khavati, 54

KISHORE BHARATI, 20, 21,
32-33, 178, 181, 184, 185
Konkan, 59, 101, 104, 158

labourers, 11, 12, 26, 31, 79, 109,
112, 114, 142, 143, 161

Lai, Chaman, 13
land ownership pattern, 26, 142
Land Records, 55
land reforms, 9
Landless labour, 11, 27
landlords, 8, 13, 26, 142
Latin America, 180
Liberalization of economy,

111, 179
library, 87, 130
literacy rate, 103
LIVESTOCK ECONOMY, 73
Lohia, Rammanohar, 8
Lokshala Programme, 32-33
Lonari, 59

Mahavira, 162
Maan River, 53-54, 60, 70
Maan Taluka, 19, 20, 48, 53-54
macro-level, policy support, 10, 25
Madras Rains, 53
Mahar, 59, 72
Mahalanobis, P. C., 180
Maharashtra, 1,2, 19, 65
Maize, 54, 158
Mang, 59, 76, 77, 92
Mantralaya, 89
Manuwadi, 18
Marathas, 59
Maxist philosophy, 13
mass movements/struggles, 37, 40
- short-term vs. long-term goals
of, 31,40, 161
Matang, 76, 77
materialism, 23, 29, 138, 154
'Means and End' question, 22
Mathai, John, 2, 4,48
Medical Centre, Pulkoti, 85,130
Merine Cross breed, 83
metropolitan, 19, 31, 33
Mhaswad,55,67, 69, 81, 83,85,
92, 103
mid-wives, 85
migration, seasonal, 60
mixed economic policy, 16, 34, 36

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 193

Model Farms, 90

modem science and technology,

6, 16

modem temples of India, 7
Monopoly, 78, 81
Mother Earth, 112, 128

Nai Taleem, Gandhian conception
of education,

- Macaulayian-cum-Brahmanical
education, demolition of, 7

- pedagogic essence of, 10

- paradox of, 41
Narayan, Jaiprakash, 8
National Aeronautical Laboratory,

- Wind Mill for Devapur Project,
Designing & Making, 84

national bourgeoisie, 6, 12, 13, 14,
16, 17, 28

National Centre for the Performing
Arts (NCPA), Mumbai, 2, 47
National Institute of Advance
Studies (NIAS), Bengaluru, 2, 47
national policy/policies, 33,139
natural calamities, 1, 119
Natural Resources, 26, 111, 112,
136

Nava Baudh, 59
Nehru, Jawahar Lai, 9, 20, 180
Nehmvian, logic/policy/thought/
vision, 6, 7, 8, 19, 37
neo-liberal capitalism, 6, 24, 36,
110

- systemic crisis of, 24

- Liberalization, Privatization and
Globalization, 111, 179

neo-liberalism

- neo-liberal state, 34

- . . . 'riding piggy back on the

Hindu Rashtra forces. . 6, 24, 36

Niyogi, Shankar Guha, 43
Nomadic Tribes, 5, 59
Non-Govemmental Organizations
(NGOs), 22-23, 30, 33, 41, 108,
111, 121, 126-27, 135, 137, 156

- NGOs vs. VOs, 22-23

- NGOisation of VOs, 23
North-East monsoons, 54

'Oasis in the Desert' , 26, 61, 141
obscurantism, cultural, 5, 8
Occupational Pattern, 100, 101
Occupations, 101

- Productive to Unproductive, 109
'Occupy Wall Street' (OWS), 45
'Occupy UGC, 45

Oil Mill, 81

oligarchy, 40, 179

onion, 96, 97, 104, 158

oppressed masses, 13

Other Backward Classes (OBCs),

5, 30

Oxfam, 168

Palasvade, 54, 59, 60, 71, 74
Panchayat/Panchayat Samiti, 50
Pandharpur, 55

Panwan, 54, 59, 66, 67, 73, 114
Pandit, Y.S., 2,51,94
Pant, Govind Vallabh, 6
paradox, in development, 41, 148,
157

paradoxical transformation, 31, 33
parasitical work, 112
Parliament, 179
Patel, Sardar Vallabhbhai, 6, 9
Patriarchy

- hegemoney of, 27
per capita income, 61,

Periyar, 10, 38
philanthropic, 37, 47

Phule Mahatma Jotirao, 9, 22, 38,
43,59

Phule, Savitribai, 43
Picketty, Thomas, 167
PL 480 (U. S. Law), 65

194 Suresh Suratwala

planners & policy makers, 19, 33,
127, 143, 165, 181

- need to be informed of grass-roots
experience and analysis, 185

Planning

-functional, 31,38-39,41, 161

- structural, 31, 38-39, 40, 161
Planning Commission, 179
policies, 35, 36, 81, 86, 97, 98, 119,
139, 144

pomegranate, 70, 71, 158
poverty, 1, 7-8, 26, 30, 112, 118,
126, 134-35, 142, 159-160, 162
priorities, 125, 132, 140, 180
Prasad, Dr. Rajendra, 6, 9, 167
Production

- agricultural, 27

- artisanal, 27
pseudo-nationalism, 5

Public Private Partnership (PPP),
34,35

- shifting public resomces to private
capital, 35

Public Sector, 16, 17, 36
Pulkoti, 54, 59, 65, 72, 73, 85, 130

qualified doctor, 85

Quit India Movement (1942), 21

Rabi, 54
radicalism, 135
Rajagopalachari C., 6, 9
Raj guru, S/ia/ieerf, 13
Rajasthan, 74
Ramoshi, 59, 61, 72
Rational Planning Corporation
Ltd., 55

Rayat Shikshan Sanstha, 48, 87,
recolonisation, 14
relief and rehabilitation, 1
remunerative prices, 96
Republics, 10, 32
revenue, 69, 109, 180

revolutionaries, 14, 17
ruling class & Rurlers of the
country, 33

- Agricultural rural people,
neglected & exploited by, 178-179

Rural Community Organization, 1
Rural credit/loan

- for productive purpose, 118

- ad-hocism & electoral politics,

118

- Loan Melas, 118

- formers' suicides: Lack of
monitoring, natural calamities,
rising input cost & unfavourable
market, 118-119

Rural Development, 2, 9, 63, 138

- administration: VOs vs.
government, 117-119,122-124

- near urban areas vs. remote
villages, 120-121

rural society, 23, 109, 111, 138,
Rural Welfare Board (RWB), 48,
49,51,63

rural work, 1, 3, 51, 138, 145, 148

- Functional Rural Work without
Structural Changes, futility of, 178

Sabarmati Ashram, 22

Sangar community, 83

Sangharsh aur Nirman (Struggle &

Reconstruction), 43

Sangli, 53, 72

Satara, 72

Satara District, 2, 48, 49, 51, 53, 86
Satya Shodhak Samai/Movement,
22, 59

Scheduled Caste, 5, 30, 59, 76
Scheduled Tribe, 5, 30
Scholarships, 47, 89, 103, 106
scientific temper, 5
Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), 1,
28, 32-33,51,54, 123, 128
Second Evaluation, 94
self-introspection, 24, 139
self-reliant, 7, 9, 18, 32, 73

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 195

Sewagram Ashram, 22
Shahuji Maharaj of Kolhapur, 59
Shetkaryacha Asud, 1883
(Cultivator’s Whipcord), 9
Shirtav, 54, 59, 77
Sholapur, 72
Sholapur Distt., 54
Singaravelar, 10

Sisal/Agave Fibre centre, 76, 132,
133

Skill India Mission, linked to Make
in India,

- De-skilling for supply of cheap
enslaved labour to attraet finance
eapital, 35

Social dynamics/change, 23, 138
Social Forestry, 70
social scientists, 33, 111
Socialism, 8, 178-179
socio-economic

- constraints, 73

- frame work, 51

- policies, 5, 8, 36
sociology, 9, 155
soil erosion, 104
standard of living, 50
State Socialism, 11
statistical data, 3, 109, 116
Stiglitz, Joseph, 167
structural change/transformation,
10, 22, 25, 37

- from capitalist mode to socialist
mode of production, 41 -42

subaltern castes, 9
Subject Matter Specialists, 152
sugarcane, 96, 97, 104, 158
Sukhdey, Shaheed, 13
Swadeshi, 15, 16
Swaminathan, M.S., 180
sweet potatoes and carrots, 114

Tank, Rajewadi, 54, 60, 70-71

- Galper land, 71

- Tank-bed, 74

Tatas, 16

Tata Energy Research Institute
(TERI), 47

Tata Institute of Fundamental
Research (TIFR), 2, 20, 47
Tata Institute of Social Science
(TISS), 2,19,38, 47
Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai

- for cancer treatment & research, 2
'Tata Villages', 49

terrain of basalt rock, 104
Tharparkar, 74, 75
Thassar, lyothee, 10
Torla, 54, 65
transport,

- modem means of, 28

- Bullock cart, 55
Tubectomy, 86, 119

UK, 179

undergroundwater, 56, 61, 65, 66
unemployment, 5, 8, 17, 170, 171
United Nations (UN), 179, 181
University, 62, 89, 90, 103, 106
University Degree education, 89
urbanization, 23, 29, 36, 138, 154
Urulikanchan (near Pune), 75
USA, 139, 179
Untouchability, 10, 13

Valai, 54, 58, 65, 105
value(s)

- ethical, 17, 24, 32, 138

- human, 27, 145

- system, 51, 110, 162
Varnashram, 9, 10
Vasectomy, 85, 119
Vemula, Rohith, 46
Veeresalingam, Kandukuri, 10
Veterinary Science, 89

Village & Cottage Industries, 180

196 Suresh Suratwala

Voluntary Organizations (VOs), 1

- VOs vs. NGOs, 22-23, 33, 111,
137, 156-157

- historic legacy of anti-caste &
anti-imperialist struggles, 23

- VOs become NGOs, 23
Voluntary Sector, 119

water resources, harnessing full
potential of, 96

Watershed Development, 64, 128

- Contour Bunding, 64, 84, 104,
128

- Contour Trenching, 64

- Nalla Bunding, 64

- Percolation Tanks, 64

- underground water, preventing
over-exploitation of, 96

- Water Conservation, 65, 128

- Wells, excavation, deepening &
renovation of, 65

Weaker sections, 92, 164

- Target-oriented programmes,
72-73

- Sisal/Agave Fibre Centre, 76-77

- Co-op Housing for Depressed
classes/Caste, 91-92

wealth, redistribution of, 8
'We are the 99%', 45
welfare activities, facilities &
amenities, 27,48, 164
welfare state, 34

'welfarist'. Development-oriented

- need to go beyond functional
development, 187

Wind Mills, 84

World Bank, 23, 24, 37,42, 138,
179,181

World Economic Forum (WEF),
Davos, 168

WTO, 23,24, 42, 138, 179, 181

yard stick, 27, 144-145

Yash Pal, 32-33

yields, 53, 90, 96

Young Farmers, 71, 75, 90, 91, 96

Zilla Parishad, 50, 87, 90, 92

The Paradox of Rural Development in India - The Devapur Experience 197

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